


You Don't Know Me, But...

by MagentasNightmare



Category: The Walking Dead & Related Fandoms, The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Angst, Caryl, DON'T LIKE - DON'T READ (I'm not changing what I write for anyone:), Daryl Dixon/Carol Peletier Smut, F/M, Kidnapping, Merle and TWD character smut...not saying who thought cause it'll ruin the story, Merle and surprise character, Merle is danger, Organized Crime, Plot Twists, Smut, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-22
Updated: 2017-04-21
Packaged: 2018-10-09 08:51:50
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 27,507
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10408443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MagentasNightmare/pseuds/MagentasNightmare
Summary: Carol finds herself seeking out answers after clues are revealed to her in a series of dreams. She witnesses disturbing visions of a man in serious danger and won't stop until she knows how to stop the dreams and help the man she sees. This is a Caryl story, Merle is a side character. I'll be posting every Wednesday because life is nuts lately but I'll add a short chapter review of the previous chapter before each new update. Thanks for reading:) Teagan XOXO





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [KrissyG927](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KrissyG927/gifts).



_ **You Don't Know Me, But...** _

_ **Prologue – Chapter 1** _

 

The sun was scorching her pale skin, but she was four years old that summer and such things were unimportant on a day at the beach.

Carol sat with a pail between her knees, picking up handfuls of sand then packing it down in an attempt to make a castle like her mother had shown her. Her parents were only a few feet away bickering about her father's job, how much time he spent working, and something to do with his secretary.

Carol learned the specifics of the conflict later after the divorce, but in that moment it was only bickering that she recalled. The constant war of words was a commonplace thing in her young life, so much that she assumed it was normal.

There were no clouds in the sky, and off in the distance heatwaves wiggled through the air, and she wondered in her four-year-old mind what the phenomenon was.

A group of older children was playing an impromptu game of beach volleyball with an inflatable beach ball, and she paused to watch them, wishing she had a beach ball too.

Carol's sand castles fell down over and over again, the sand was too dry to pack, and she became frustrated.

Carol's mother gave her an ice cream cone that she ate happily as she listened to her father calling her mother a 'nag'.

The day was still fun despite the arguments and Carol noticed within the hour that the older kids had abandoned the beach ball.

She toddled over to pick it up and threw it in the air. The ball was bright and huge, and she wanted one of her own.

"Stay close!" her mother called.

"OK!"

She played for another five minutes or so before accidentally losing the ball in the water.

Her first thought was that the older kids would be angry that she lost the ball so she went after it like any four year old would.

It's at this point that the memory became foggier. The first few steps toward it were fine, but every time she grabbed for the ball it moved further out onto the surface of the lake.

Inch by inch she began to tread deeper without even noticing the water moving higher up her pink bathing suit, the one with white hearts all over it.

She was laughing at her own inability to get a hold on the ball, and when the sand suddenly disappeared from under her feet, she didn't see it coming.

Carol sank below the surface of the water up to her eyes and as she tried to scream her mouth filled with water.

The most common misconception about drowning is that there is screaming and thrashing when it is most often a silent killer.

Her legs kicked wildly under the water seeking a foothold but there was nothing, and all she could see was the blinding sun and blue sky for the last moment.

Cold green water filled her mouth and adrenaline blazed through her tiny body. Carol would never outlive the terror of that moment as long as she lived.

Her upper arm was grabbed forcefully, and she was yanked back up toward the sky. She flopped against an unknown body, and she gasped for air but instead, she coughed involuntarily for many minutes, and the pain in her chest was unreal. A kid who appeared to be about 12 carried her onto the beach and lay her on the hot sand then she was surrounded instantly by adults.

The commotion was frightening and the rest of the day was mostly snapshots.

The ambulance, the hospital, doctors, non-stop crying when she realized she almost died, the way her parents actually held each other for a change, her father buying her the red teddy bear she still owned.

Carol relived that day in dreams occasionally and wished that one day it would stop but she was in her late twenties, and it still happened once or twice a year. Carol's dreams were consistently vivid and sometimes confusing throughout her life, but she could never have imagined where her dreams would lead or that they could even help someone.

 

 

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a couple of things: This really is a Caryl story, even if it doesn't seem that way for the first few chapters (there's just some set up first). Also, the first 2 chapters are a little confusing but it will very soon make sense, I promise:) Thank you so much for reading.
> 
> P.S. I'll be posting on Tuesdays and Saturdays now because weekly is tooooo slow but daily is too fast. Lol
> 
> Teagan xoxo

 

_ **You Don’t Know Me, But…** _

_ **Chapter 2** _

Merle was just standing on the corner waiting for the bar to open when he saw her. Trish hadn’t been around for weeks, and he was surprised to see her.

“What’s up, Trish?” he grinned.

“Nothing much,” she answered, pulling a pack of smokes from her pocket.

She looked edgy, but she was a drug gie so  that wasn ’ t out of the ordinary. She scratched at her elbow and bit her lip like she was in need of a fix.

“You alright? Haven’t seen you around for a bit,” he noted, lighting up as well.

“I was just kinda busy, you know how it is…but I was lookin’ for you,” she said with a shrug of her shoulders.

“What for?”

“You want a date for the night?” she asked, looking up and down the street like she was expecting someone.

Merle had slept with Trish but so had everyone else.  He was no angel either, but she was the kind of woman you wore two condoms with.  Still, he didn ’ t know why she ’ d be seeking him out on that particular day.

“What were you thinking of?” he asked, not one to turn down an easy lay.

“Maybe we could go for a drink when they open…it’s on me,” she smiled.

“Since when do you ever have money?” he laughed.

“Don’t ask. You in?”

“Why not?” he agreed.

When Joe opened the bar twenty minutes later, Merle and Trish found a booth in line with the door and she sat down with her back to it.

“What’ll it be?” Joe asked.

“A pitcher of draft and keep it coming,” Trish answered.

Merle wondered what the hell was going on but didn’t question it seriously enough in time to change the course of events.

The drinks were flowing, and Trish kept handing over cash like it was nothing. She’d been known to turn the odd trick and even deal in some drugs, but something was off about her spending this kind of money on him.

She kept it all coming and when he mentioned he should maybe call it a night she insisted he stay and whispered suggestive nothings into his ear.

“Stay for another round, baby, and I’ll suck your dick so good you’ll never forget it.”

“Pfft! What the hell’s gotten into you tonight?” he laughed.

By 10 pm he was getting toasty and was looking to get cozy with her. She looked down at her watch again and again throughout the evening and finally he questioned her.

“You got a meeting or something?”

“No…no…just curious what time it was,” she stuttered.

“You’re acting pretty dodgy, Trish. What’s up with you?” he asked.

“Merle…”

“What?”

Just then the door opened and in walked the last people on the planet he wanted to see.

“What the fuck?” he asked under his breath, and the moment his eyes settled on hers, he knew he’d been ratted out.

Trish didn’t turn to the door, but he knew she knew who he was looking at.

“I’m sorry, Merle.”

“Trish, they’re gonna fucking kill me. How could you?” he asked while he still had the chance. “This was a fucking set up?”

“Merle, I’m sorry…they threatened to hurt my kids.”

Michael’s men sat down at the table beside him, and he dropped his head into his hands.

“Nice work, Trish,” Samuel grinned. "Got any change from the money we gave you?"

"No...sorry."

"Yeah, of course you don't."

“Can I go?” she asked.

“Yeah, you did your job. The next time you owe Michael money he won’t give you a shot like this, though, remember that.”

“I will. Thank you,” Trish groveled.

“Get outta here,” Samuel nodded. “We gotta have a word with Merle.”

Trish got up and walked out while the getting was still good and Merle ’ s heart raced hard, a s his breath became short gasps.

He knew and so did everyone else what happened when you crossed Michael. He ’ d be beaten to a pulp, and his body would be dumped  in some forgotten place  by morning.

Apparently, word had gotten around to Trish somehow that he’d ratted out Michael’s gang and revealed information about their drug trafficking operation to the police. 

He had no choice, he was pressured into it by the cops after being pulled over, and they found drugs in his car. He was known to the police already, and they used his known association with Michael’s gang to get information. Merle was facing felony drug charges if he didn’t play ball, and to his knowledge, there was no way they’d find out it was him.

“So the weirdest thing happened, Merle,” Samuel began. “We had this detective show up at the clubhouse, and he was asking all kinds of questions.”

“Yeah?” Merle muttered, looking down at his hands and willing them to stop shaking.

“We know it was you, Merle,” Tony added. “You gonna come along with us and maintain a little dignity or do we have to drag you out.”

Merle sighed slowly and winced, he wondered if his brother would ever find out what happened to him. Very dark and somber thoughts raced through his mind. He’d never get a chance to straighten his life out. He was going to be killed. Nobody but Daryl would miss him, and he’d have no funeral.

One of Michael’s men he didn’t know the name of lay his hand on Merle’s shoulder and told him it was time to go.

################

There was water dripping somewhere around him, and the air was crisp. Maybe he was outside, but he had no idea yet.

He could taste blood in his mouth, and when he tried to look around, only one of his eyes could actually open.

It seemed like a warehouse, probably out in the middle of the industrial area where nobody could hear him scream and that wasn’t good. This is where it would happen.

He heard footsteps coming toward him and looked up to see Michael’s face.

“You know why you’re here, Merle.”

“Yes.”

“I’m trying to think whether or not I have a use for you…” his voice trailed off.

Merle didn’t want to beg, he’d heard that was frowned upon, but he didn’t want to die either.

“I’ll work it off…I can retract my statement…I’ll do whatever I gotta do.”

“I thought you were one of the good ones, Merle. I mean, I know you’re a druggie piece of shit, but I assumed you were at least smart enough not to cross me.”

“I fucked up, Michael. I’m sorry.”

“You know one thing I like about you is you aren’t trying to fuck with me and waste my time lying about it. I respect that. You did it to save your own ass, right?”

“Yes.”

Merle licked his stinging lips and shifted a half an inch against the restraints to sit up a little straighter.

His hands were duct taped to the armrests of a chair and his ankles taped to the legs. He hoped and prayed he wasn’t going to be driven out to Lake Lanier and drowned, he imagined thugs doing something like that. “Tell you what I’m gonna do. I’m going to leave you here with my man Tony and I’m going to think about what to do with you.”

Tony was the enforcer who had a penchant for violence and suddenly drowning in  a lake sounded  pretty good .

Merle  just  nodded cause he obviously didn ’ t have any cards in his hand.

“Good. So I’ll let you sweat it out till tomorrow or maybe the rest of the week. I honestly don’t know what the hell to do with you, Merle. I know I should kill you but something is telling me you might be useful. I can’t let what you did go unpunished either but I need to contemplate this. You know how this works, right?”

“Yes,” Merle replied in a choked voice.

Michael grinned an evil grin that reminded Merle of a clown he’d seen at the circus as a child. Michael was 6 foot 4 and built like a linebacker. He had a head full of gray hair and looked almost friendly until you knew what he was capable of.

Michael turned and left then , and after a moment, Tony walked  back  in .  Merle knew that the real fun was about to begin and he pitied himself in that moment …

 

###############################################

** We will be back to Carol next chapter and everything will make some more sense:) Promise. This chapter and Carol's story are intertwined. **

** I'll post again on Saturday:) **

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

_**You Don't Know Me, But…** _

_**Chapter 3** _

A candle flickered on the table between them, and Carol was just trying to think of an exit strategy.

"Will you consider giving it another try, Carol?"

Luke evidently wanted to convince her that he'd changed and of how much he regretted cheating.

"I don't think it's a good idea."

"It's been months, and I haven't seen anyone else…I believe we can work this out."

He slid his hand across the table to touch hers, and she flinched away.

"Come on, Carol. I still believe in us, tell me you do too."

She looked into his eyes, and she saw the man she'd loved for the last two years and that was the problem. Carol knew that if she took him back that she would eventually trust him again and love him just like before, she'd be vulnerable to getting hurt again.

"It didn't mean anything to me, and you know that. There's nothing like you and me," he pressed.

"There was nothing like you and me. I trusted you with my life, my heart, my future. How you threw that away for what you admit yourself was nothing, I'll just never understand."

"You're still mad…I thought you'd gotten over it," he sighed like it was an inconvenience to him.

"I just can't. I guess I hoped we could be friends or maybe I just needed to know you wanted me back. That's what you've done to me, Luke, you made me feel so fucking low about myself. I've spent the last two months feeling undesirable and worthless. You turned me into a woman who actually seeks validation from a man who cheated on her."

Carol got up and dug through her purse for some money and dropped it on the table in front of him.

"The worst part is that I loved you so completely, I'd never been so happy…but if I do this I'll regret it."

"Carol, please…just hold up a minute."

"I can't do this, Luke. I can't let you do this to me again."

With that, she turned from the table and walked halfway to the door before returning to retrieve her money from in front of him.

"You at least owe me a couple of drinks for what you did."

She got into her car and drove three blocks before she had to pull over and break down.

"Fuck," she sobbed into the sleeve of her jacket. "Fuck you…I hate you…I love you…"

_**/** _

"I cannot believe you met with him."

"I know, Michonne. I just…I don't have an excuse," she admitted, pouring a tall glass of wine into a coffee mug.

"I get it, I really do. I've been there too, but he doesn't deserve you. You must know that."

"I do, but getting cheated on just messes with your mind. I've never felt so unattractive before. That sounds pretty shallow, doesn't it? I shouldn't care so much about that, should I?"

"Hey, it's OK to need to feel attractive. We all need that; and for the record, you are beautiful," Michonne insisted.

"Thanks, babe. I needed to hear that."

"Why don't you leave that one horse town for a week and come see me in the big A?"

"I could use that actually. If I bump into him one more time this month, I'm going to lose it."

"I don't get why you still live there, Carol. I got out of that little burg, you can do it too," she laughed.

"I know...maybe you can help me find a place while I'm down there."

"Seriously?"

"Yep, I'm sick of this place. I'll see you as soon as I'm done tomorrow."

"I'll be expecting you."

"I need to photograph a house tomorrow for a real estate agent, but then I'm all yours."

"Good. You need to let this go, once and for all. Maybe we can see a show or go to a club and find you a new man," she squealed.

"Maybe. I need to wash that man outta my hair," Carol sighed.

"Go to bed, do your work tomorrow, and then drive your butt here to see me."

"I don't know what I'd do without you, Michonne. You really are the best friend a girl could ask for."

"You've been my #1 girl since grade 8, and that's not about to change."

"I'll call you as soon as I'm on the highway."

"I'll be waiting."

Carol hung up and proceeded to drink the mug of wine, all the while wishing she'd never agreed to meet with Luke in the first place.

She surfed the internet and drank until she realized she was tipsier than she expected to be. By midnight she decided that she needed to get to bed before she wound up passed out on the couch. Too many nights lately had ended in lonely drinking, and sad chick flicks on the sofa.

Carol flopped onto her bed and closed her eyes, still trying to forget about the way it felt to be held in Luke's arms...

_**/** _

_**~ I'm freezing!** _

_**~ Do I look like I give a shit, princess?** _

Carol could hear a conversation but didn't recognize the voices. She felt cold too, and her feet were wet.

She took a few steps toward a doorway, walking through puddles as she moved.

There was light coming from under the door, but all around her was darkness.

_(This is a dream)_

She touched the door handle and heard the voices again.

_**~ Why doesn't he just kill me, Tony?** _

_**~ Who knows why Michael does shit? That ain't my problem, though, my orders are to make you sorry for what you did.** _

_**~ Can you do me a favor if you're going to kill me anyway?** _

_**~ I don't do favors for the likes of you** _

She pushed the door open, but the man who was standing didn't even turn, and the man taped to the chair didn't look up. It was evident they couldn't see her. She wondered why she'd be dreaming of this. It was like a crime drama from TV, but she didn't even watch those.

She wondered if she could make herself seen or heard by them, so she spoke.

**"Is this a cop show, guys?"**

_(No answer)_

**"You guys are probably part of my subconscious or something, but I'd actually prefer a dream about some sexy guy getting naked."**

_(Still, no answer)_

Then the men began to speak again as if she wasn't there, so she sat on a chair in the corner of the warehouse to listen.

_**~ Please…if you kill me. Can you tell my brother Daryl that it happened? You've heard of my brother, right? Daryl Dixon** _

_**~ Pfft! I musta beat you harder than I thought, boy. Why the fuck would I report a crime I committed to the victim's brother?** _

_**~ Just send an anonymous note or something. I don't want him wasting his time looking** _

_**~ I'll think about it** _

Carol felt sorry for the man tied to the chair, he'd been beaten to a pulp, and he sounded so desperate.

She wished they could hear her or that she could do something.

Carol stood and picked up the chair she was sitting on. Maybe she could hit the man who was standing with the chair, untie the man sitting down and be the hero of her dream.

Suddenly her hands lost all strength, and the chair slipped only a few inches to the floor and fell over.

She looked up and found that both men were looking at the chair but not at her.

The man who was in charge looked half angry and half terrified.

Carol's heart raced, and she began to stutter.

**"I…I just…"**

She knew it was only a dream, but she was still scared. The chill in the air, her wet feet and the looks in the men's eyes were all so real that it was a sensory override.

_**~ What the fuck? What knocked that over?** _

_**~ I'm tied up, don't look at me** _

_**/** _

Carol's eyes shot open, and she bolted up in bed.

"What the-"

She was breathing heavy, and her hand was pressed to her chest as she gasped for air.

She looked around her room and picked up her alarm clock, desperate to orientate herself to reality.

Carol almost wanted to get back into the dream. She wanted to find out what happened with the man in the chair but knew she'd never fall asleep again, and she'd never find her way back to the same dream.

The clock said 9 am so she'd have to get her butt moving to her real estate appointment but she knew the image would linger, it usually did. Carol never seemed to have the kind of dreams you easily forget.

**#####################################################**

_The dreams in this are a little confusing but hopefully not too much. I'm really not that clever so they shouldn't be too tricky. LOL_

_Thanks for reading:) It really means a lot to me. Teagan XOXO_


	4. Chapter 4

_***You Don't Know Me, But…** _

_**Chapter 4** _

Carol got dressed and went off to take the photos for a local real estate agent but couldn't get the dream off her mind all morning. Her dreams had always been difficult to understand, but this one was especially upsetting.

Michonne called as she was wrapping up her shoot and said she'd meet her at her apartment before they'd be heading out for a night on the town.

"That sounds like just what I need," Carol sighed. "Love you."

"Hurry yourself up! I wanna go out," Michonne giggled.

"I'm coming; I'm coming!"

Carol packed up a small suitcase for her visit and couldn't wait to be free of her surroundings and Luke.

They had both grown up in Athens, but Michonne escaped right after high school to pursue her modeling career. The drive to Atlanta from her small town felt like escaping prison, moving to be closer to Michonne would be perfect. Being a freelance photographer meant she could work anywhere and she'd have more opportunities in a bigger city anyway.

The highway stretched out ahead of her, and she sipped a hot coffee knowing that Michonne would be taking her out for a night on the town, she'd need to get her caffeine levels up.

Visions of the man in the chair wouldn't leave her no matter how she tried to drown them out with thoughts of fun and frivolity. She couldn't help feeling the dream had a purpose.

The name Daryl Dixon had stayed with her and the thought of Googling it crossed her mind once she got to Michonne's place. When she found that this person didn't exist locally, she could put it to rest, but she had to check.

She pulled up on the street outside Michonne's building in the afternoon and wasn't out of the car 2 minutes before her best friend was yelling down to her from the fire escape.

"You ready for some fun, woman?"

"Yeah, ready as I'll ever be but I need some food first!"

"La Bodega?"

"You know it!"

Being with Michonne always felt good, they understood each other.

Carol made it up to her apartment and just like that nothing that happened with Luke mattered anymore. Michonne was already ready to go and full of energy and Carol wasn't surprised. Going out with Michonne was always an experience with men falling all over themselves to get close to her. Michonne had been a model since high school, and there wasn't a man alive who didn't fall all over himself in her presence.

They went out for supper at La Bodega and ate the Medetaranian food they both craved until they were stuffed and ready to dance.

They were just finishing up dessert when Carol couldn't help mentioning the dream.

"Sounds creepy, but you've always had weird dreams, right?" Michonne said, grabbing the bill before she could.

"I have, but this one was even more real than usual...it's like I could feel this man's fear for myself."

"You are stressed right out, lady!" Michonne insisted. "Let's go dance the weird dreams right out of you."

"OK."

Michonne got up to pay the bill, so Carol took the time to Google the name from the dream just to see how nuts she was. By the time Michonne was heading back to the table, she was reading all about Dixon's Autobody and the man who owned the place, Daryl Dixon. The website noted that the business was only blocks away from Michonne's apartment and it gave her chills.

Carol didn't know what to do about it if anything. This was a dream after all and had been invented by her subconscious mind, so she started to try rationalizing it.

Maybe she'd seen an ad with his name in it since he owned a local business it was more than possible. Maybe she'd heard his name in conversation in public, there had to be a logical reason she knew his name, but she couldn't place it yet.

She decided to put it away for the evening and just enjoy her time with Michone, that was what she really needed.

Forgetting all about Luke had to be a priority for her own sanity.

The club they settled on was close enough for them to stumble home afterward and it was packed with people who also wanted to let loose.

Michonne ordered a pitcher of beer for the table and told Carol to spill it all about Luke which she did, and it was like a purge.

"He says he wants me back and I'm telling you, Michonne, no matter how much I hate him a big part of me just wanted his touch."

"He's a master manipulator," she rolled her eyes.

"I know that, but it's lonely sleeping alone...I know I don't love him, but he knew just how to hold me."

"Drink up! We're gonna get you dancing," Michonne insisted.

Soon Carol was feeling the heat and mild tipsiness, and they began to dance as a small crowd of guys gathered to join them.

The music was so loud it vibrated through her body, and the first man who came close was pulled into her web. He stood behind her and lay his hands on her hips, urging her ass into his crotch, and she rolled with it.

What Carol really wanted was a man to look deep into her eyes, and tell her that she was the one he'd always wanted but this would do for now. He whispered into her ear from over her shoulder that she was 'so hot' and she smiled to herself, wondering how long it would be before she found a real man.

The man was gorgeous, and she was pulled down a darkened hallway where he pressed her to a wall and kissed her senseless. Michonne stayed within earshot, but it felt good, so she went with it for a while.

The man tasted of whiskey, and the scruff of his facial hair scratched her lips on occasion, he was good-looking, and just a little rough and she liked that at the moment.

He yanked her leg up around his waist, and she melted against the wall as his tongue found her neck. She was inches from tearing her clothes off as well as his when Michonne came along to call a timeout with a giggle.

The man gave her his number and told her his name was Jason. He begged her to call him, and she insisted that she would although she wasn't really sure.

"Damn! You're a wildcat tonight!" Michonne teased.

"It was just a kiss," Carol defended hopelessly.

"You two were about to eat each other alive!" Michonne corrected.

Carol laughed, and it was the full genuine laugh that she needed so badly.

There was a little more dancing with the stranger before he left but Michonne saved her from falling into bed with a man she knew nothing about so she was grateful.

They both drank a little too much and walked home well after midnight arm in arm.

"I needed this, babe," Carol said softly as they approached Michonne's building.

"I know you did, and that's why you got it. I'm always gonna be here when you need me."

"Thank God for you," she added as Michonne helped her up the stairs.

Carol was laid down on the spare bed, and Michonne took her shoes off and covered her with a quilt before passing out herself. They did this for each other whenever it was needed just like sisters and Carol drifted off in the peace of knowing that she had love in her life, she was comforted by that knowledge.

The feeling of peace and comfort didn't last, though. By morning the dream of the man in the chair would return, and she wouldn't be able to stay idle anymore...


	5. Chapter 5

_***You Don** _ _**'** _ _**t Know Me, But**_

_**Chapter 5** _

 

_**~ Eat!** _

_**~ Why?** _

_**~ You don't die till I say so** _

_**~ Fuck you, man!** _

Carol shuddered when she could feel the damp cold again, and she knew instantly where she was. The man from the chair in the first dream was untaped and had a gun on him as he was being encouraged to eat.

Carol hated this dream, and she wished it would stop. She closed her eyes in the dream and prayed for something else but when she opened her eyes it was still before her.

The man on the ground looked pale now and was shaking a little in the cold. His clothes looked damp, and she wanted to do something to help him.

_**~ Just kill me** _

_**~ Merle, listen to me and listen good. This will only end when I get the orders, that's how this works.** _

_**~ Fuck you! I've been here for three days!** _

_**~ Eat!** _

_**~ Kill Me!** _

'Merle' was on a suicide mission and if he didn't shut up, he was probably going to get his wish. She approached the men, and nobody responded; they still couldn't see her. Her hand came out and attempted to touch Merle's face, the man had a name now, and she couldn't help caring for him despite not knowing anything about him.

Her hand brushed a cold cheek with rough facial hair, and he jumped and looked around him in fear.

"It's OK, Merle...shhh!" she said, and for a split second, she was sure he could hear her.

Carol didn't know what else to say to him, but he needed to stop fighting with the man who had no qualms about killing him.

He looked in her general direction and squinted.

_**~ You've fucking lost it, Merle! You look all fucking twitchy over there** _

_**~ I'm fine** _

_**~ Eat, I ain't gonna say it again** _

Carol was happy to see him pick up the sandwich from the paper plate and eat; maybe she'd have time to figure the whole thing out.

The man with the gun received a call and spoke to someone on the phone as Merle finished the sandwich and then she watched as he was secured to the chair again with tape.

Finally, the man in charge said he'd be back in the morning and was just finishing his cigarette as he walked slowly over to Merle with an evil grin on his face.

_**~ Michael says to kiss you goodnight for him** _

The man proceeded to put out his cigarette on Merle's forearm, and Carol screamed right along with him, she could feel it burning her skin like acid.

"Ahhhhhhhhh!"

_**/** _

"Carol! Carol, Wake up!"

Michonne was shaking her by the shoulders, and the sun was blinding her through a gap in the curtains. Carol was clutching her forearm and almost in tears. The scratch in her throat told her she'd been screaming and she looked into Michonne's eyes with horror still replaying itself in her foggy mind.

"I need to find him!" she exclaimed.

"Who?"

"Merle!"

"What the hell?"

"I need to find Daryl and see if this is his brother, he's in danger!"

"It's a dream, Carol. It's just a nightmare!"

Carol finally uncovered her arm and plain as day a bright red burn was beginning to blister on her skin.

"Jesus! Carol, what have you done to yourself?"

Michonne disappeared to grab some aloe and a band-aid, but Carol was chilled right to the bone and terrified that she was losing her mind. She could tell from Michonne's eyes when she returned that her sanity was being questioned, so she piped up right away trying to defend herself.

"I didn't do this! You helped me to bed and I only just woke up now...I didn't do this!"

After her burn was covered she explained that the same thing had happened in her dream, the man she saw before had been burned too.

"Carol...I don't really know what to say about all this. I thought you were a skeptic."

"I am, I was...but how can I not pursue this. I could feel this man's pain, and if there's even a chance that this is more than a dream, then I need to know."

"So what do you propose?"

"I just need to see if this guy Daryl even has a brother, if he doesn't then at least I know my crazy mind made it all up."

Michonne sighed and looked very concerned, but she agreed that it would be an easy way to put it all to rest.

They left right after getting dressed and grabbed a coffee on the walk over. It was a nice convenience in the city that Michonne's place was only a short distance from Dixon's Autobody. Carol tried to think of what to say all the way there, and it all sounded ridiculous. This man would think she was insane if he had no brother and even if he did, she had no real answers for him or explanation of how she had dreamed such a thing.

The garage was an older looking place like it had been in the family for generations. The sign out front had chipped paint, but it had always said Dixon's Autobody, that much was plain.

Michonne said she'd wait out front and Carol took a slow deep breath before entering the business with her heart in her throat.

She was struck immediately by a good-looking man working under a car up on a hoist. He had shaggy dark brown hair and muscular arms raised over his head as he worked. With his back to the door, he just yelled back that he'd be right with her and she said "OK."

When he turned it was even more apparent how gorgeous he was, she wondered if this was Daryl.

"Hey there," he nodded but didn't really smile.

He appeared to be in his early 30s and a little stressed out.

"Hi. You don't know me...but I just need to know something, and then I'll be on my way."

"And what's that?" he asked, frowning in confusion at her.

His piercing blue eyes made her feel unsteady and unsure, and she swallowed quickly before speaking.

"Do you have a brother named Merle?"

"...yes."

"Is he...missing by any chance?"

"Who are you?" he demanded. "Who are you and what do you know?"

He came around the counter so fast that it scared her, he grabbed her by her upper arms, and she couldn't think of what to tell him. Everything moved so quickly, and the fury in his eyes was more intense than anything she'd ever seen. Evidently, Merle Dixon was definitely a real person, and his brother was desperate for answers...


	6. Chapter 6

_***You Don't Know Me, But...** _

_**Chapter 6** _

"I'm sorry...I'm not here to start anything," Carol muttered, trying to get a handle on the conversation.

"I haven't seen my brother in a few days but I know he's in trouble, I fucking know it. How do you know of him?" Daryl begged, his eyes were desperately searching hers for answers.

"I don't know him...I just had a dream."

He let go of her arms and sighed in frustration.

"A dream?"

"I know how that sounds. I don't believe in this crap either, but please hear me out. There are some evil people involved if this dream is accurate."

He led her to a back room and shut the door for fear of anyone listening in, you didn't talk about Michael in public in that neighborhood.

"Spill it then; I don't got time to waste."

"A few nights ago I had a dream of a man tied to a chair in a warehouse. I don't even live in Atlanta and I don't know your brother but I heard him say your name to a man named Tony...and there was mention of a man named Michael."

"You gotta be in coohoots with these pricks if you know all of this. You want money or something?"

"No. I don't know anyone involved in this but I saw your brother again in a dream last night and that Tony character burned his arm...right here," she said in a raised voice, pulling off the band aid to show him her own burn. "I could feel it...and I woke up with this."

"What the fuck?"

"I'm not a nutcase and nothing like this has ever happened to me. I hate these dreams and I want to help this man...you're the only person I could think to turn to."

"And you're sure it was my brother?"

"Tony called him Merle." she shrugged. "He has a brush cut, and he's strong...his voice has this raspy quality to it and-"

"That's him. My brother got himself into trouble with the worst guys you can imagine and I haven't been able to reach him for days...but you say you saw him in a warehouse?" he asked.

"It was a huge warehouse, I don't know Atlanta well but I'd guess it was the industrial area of town."

"How did you find me?" he asked, evidently still trying to piece it together in his mind.

"Like I said, I heard your name and the dream disturbed me so much that I figured I'd look you up to convince myself that it was bullshit but you are real and apparently so is Merle."

"Jesus..." he sighed when there was nothing else to say.

"I'll tell you everything I remember and I hope that it helps...I'd even go to the cops with it but they'd probably laugh me out of the station."

"I don't trust the cops, and they won't listen to me if it's about my brother. No cops."

"OK."

"If I take a break from work now would you come for coffee and tell me everything you know?" he asked.

"Of course. My best friend is waiting for me outside; she lives in the city, so she'll come too."

"That's fine," he nodded grabbing his coat.

He took a minute to explain to his two employees that he would be back in a couple of hours then followed her out the door.

They approached Michonne and the introduction was odd to say the least, Carol wondered if three people had ever met this way before.

"Hey, I'm Daryl," he said, holding out his hand.

"Michonne."

"We were just going to grab a cup of coffee to talk about this whole...weird thing if you didn't mind coming along," Carol explained.

"Sure," Michonne agreed.

_**/** _

"So in the first dream I'm standing in the corner of the warehouse and he's duct taped to a chair and a man named Michael is being threatening. Michael says he's not sure what to do with him, but he ends up leaving him there with a man named Tony."

"Fuck!" Daryl winced.

"So you know these people," Michonne added.

"They are dangerous people...let's just say that. You're lucky if you never heard of them living in this neighborhood."

"I keep to myself and stay out of trouble," Michonne explained.

"In the other dream I had, your brother was being told to eat, and this Tony guy had a gun on him. I'm sorry to tell you these things, but I have to if it could possibly help...I hate seeing this man in this position, and I don't even know him."

"What about that burn?" he asked, reaching for her arm. "How did that happen in your dream?"

"Tony recieved a phone call from Michael and before he left he taped your brother to the chair again and burned his arm with a cigarette...I could feel it burning my skin and I woke up screaming with this."

"Why you, though?" Daryl asked.

"How do you mean?"

"If you don't even know us, then why would this happen to you? Why would you dream about him?"

"I have no idea, but I got burned in my sleep so it feels like anything is possible these days and there doesn't seem to be a reason for any of it."

"I helped her to bed myself, and she woke up this way. She would never do this to herself," Michonne added.

"Why did you need help getting to bed?" Daryl inquired.

"I tied one on last night...I was still in a little denial about the dream being real and I'm...getting over a breakup."

"Sorry, that's none of my business."

"It's OK."

"So what can we do to help your brother?" Michonne asked.

"These guys are bad fucking news," Daryl said quietly. "If I want to see him alive again then I need to be smart but first I'm going to check out the warehouse district to see what I can see."

"Be careful," Carol said, hoping everything would work out for him. "If there's anything else I can do please don't hesitate to ask, I'll be here all week."

"Can we exchange numbers, in case you have any more dreams?" he asked.

"Definitely."

They switched phones and entered numbers and email addresses, and he said he'd call her later.

"Thank you for listening," she said.

"Thanks for coming to find me. My brother is a troubled guy but he's all I have and I need him back."

"Like I said, anything I can do just ask."

Daryl got up then but paused to bend down and hug her.

"I had no leads on where I could find him till now, thank you so much."

"Think nothing of it," she insisted.

"No, seriously, a lot of people never would have bothered coming to tell me. I appreciate this."

_**/** _

"He seems nice," Michonne said on the way back to her apartment.

"I hope he finds his brother, that sounds like a dangerous situation."

"You did the right thing by telling him, at least he has a shot now."

"True. I'm telling you, I felt like a lunatic trying to explain it to him, but I had to do it."

"So are you psychic or something?" Michonne asked.

"I have no idea what this is or why it happened to me," she sighed as they entered the building and walked up the steps.

"Did you want a quiet evening in with a pizza?"

"Sounds good to me, I'm still a little wrecked from last night."

"You almost devoured a man alive; I'm not surprised," Michonne laughed.

"Shut up," Carol groaned, rolling her eyes and flopping on the couch as soon as they got through the door.

They only made it halfway through a movie that evening when she received a text from Daryl and it was the beginning of a very strange association.


	7. Chapter 7

_**You Don't Know Me,** _ _**B**_ _ **ut...** _

_**Chapter 7** _

 

 _**~ I think** _ _**Merle's** _ _**out here** _ _**in this area somewhere** _ _**, I saw a car I know belongs to one of Michael's cronies. If I don't text back in half an hour can you send the cops to this area?** _ _**The last thing I need is the cops in my life, but this could end up bad for me.** _

There was an attached screenshot of a pin on a google map, and Carol's heart raced with fear for this man she barely knew.

_**~ Of course, but please be careful.** _

_**~ I will, I parked a few blocks away, and I'm on foot now** _

_**~ Call if you need anything** _

_**~ thanks, Carol:)** _

"This is insanity," Michonne said, shaking her head as she read the texts when Carol handed her the phone.

"He might find his brother, though, so it's worth it. That man is in serious danger from what I could see in my dream. They're just toying with him, I don't think they ever plan to let him go."

"I guess you're right, but it's scary."

"I couldn't agree more, but Daryl seems like such a nice man, and he really loves his brother."

"I know this is way besides the point but...that boy was seriously easy on the eyes," Michonne grinned.

"I know, it was a little distracting."

They continued to watch the movie but Carol never stopped checking her phone for the text she was expecting.

"Still nothing," she said when the 30 minutes had passed.

"Text him back," Michonne suggested.

_**~ You OK?** _

_**~ yes, but I'm in a little outbuilding, and there are some guys outside so I can't leave.** _

_**~ O_O** _

_**~ Everyone knows me, that's the problem. If these guys find me, I'll be as fucked as Merle. Seems like they'll be out there a while, they've been yapping for 15 minutes now** _

_**~ Don't move, I'll be right there** _

_**~ NO!** _

_**~ If I come along in my car they'll scatter, right?** _

_**~ yes, but don't put yourself in the middle of this** _

_**~ I was put in the middle the moment I had that dream. I can't get your brother's face and his voice out of my head. I'll be right there.** _

Carol got up and located her keys.

"I need to go, I'll be right back."

Michonne stopped her and tried to talk sense to her, but it was no use.

"I'm sorry, but I need to do this."

"At least let me come."

"I can't put you in danger," Carol argued.

"Cut the shit, Carol. I'm your best friend, and you're not going alone."

Carol relented, and they ran down the stairs of Michonne's apartment to Carol's car.

The drive out to the warehouse district was creepy in the dark and Carol began to wonder what the hell she was thinking until she remembered the fear and sadness in Merle's voice.

_**/** _

Daryl waited patiently for a woman he barely knew to come to his rescue as he tried to hear what the men were saying.

He could see them through a crack in the door, and it was definitely a group of Michael's men.

"When is Michael cutting that useless fuck loose?" one of them asked.

"Who knows and who cares? Tony's playing babysitter until Michael feels like pulling the trigger, you know what he's like."

"True, he's one sick fuck," Samuel laughed.

"Is he in 45?" one asked.

"He keeps them all in 45, he'll never leave that big green coffin," another chuckled.

Daryl tried to think what or where the 'big green coffin' was but it was exactly then that Carol arrived. He couldn't get his mind around a complete stranger coming to him with this dream she had. She had no reason to even care if the dream was real. He concluded that Carol must be an incredible person with a good heart, the kind of person you don't meet every day.

Michael's cronies vanished like a feather in the wind, and he finally emerged from the building he'd been in when he was sure that they were gone.

"Thanks...this is a fucking mess, sorry," he sighed.

"It's OK. Do you have your car out here?" Michonne asked.

"Yeah, I'm good. My brother has to be in one of these buildings, but the land area is so big I'll never know which one," he groaned, looking around him. "They did mention a 'big green coffin' he'd never be leaving. Sounds like a building, right?"

"Yep," Carol nodded. "It cuts it down if it is. There are only a few green buildings."

"They mentioned the number 45 too, might be the address or something."

_**/** _

They all decided to go back to Michonne's place, and they tried to put the pieces together of where Merle might be.

"What's your brother like anyway?" Carol asked.

Daryl chuckled and shook his head.

"He's trouble, but he has a big heart. Merle is funny and sweet but easily led, and he's got a bit of a drug and drinking problem."

"Why do they want to hurt him?" Michonne asked.

"He turned informant against these assholes when the cops pulled him over recently, we both saw this coming eventually, but he had no choice. If he hadn't given the cops somebody then he'd be sitting in federal prison right now."

"And you're sure they'll kill him?" Carol inquired.

"He could be killed at any time, these guys don't have any problem with killing."

They spent a little more time together until it got so late that Daryl needed to get home.

"Thanks for everything, Carol. You're the only hope I have of seeing my brother again, and I appreciate you coming forward."

"I had to, his face is haunting me."

Daryl hugged her and Michonne quickly before leaving for the night.

"This is so strange," Michonne noted. "It's like a movie or something."

"I don't know why this is happening, but I sure hope he can find Merle. I could feel it in my dream how scared he was...it's torture to see another person like that. I feel responsible for getting him out of this."

"You can't take that on, Carol. If this doesn't turn out well, then you can't carry that around with you."

"I know, but I need to do something. There has to be a reason that it's me having this dream and not someone else, right?"

"I don't know, honey," Michonne shrugged.

It was very late when they both went off to bed for some much-needed rest, but only one of them got it.

_**/** _

_**~ Hurry up!** _

_**~ Just a minute...I can't piss with you standing there** _

_**~ you shy?** _

_**~ shut up** _

_**~ Merle, I don't have all fucking night** _

_**~ then shoot me and get it over with** _

_**~ just piss for** _ _**f** _ _**uck sakes** _

Carol saw Tony and Merle in the warehouse again, but this time she walked toward the exit. She wasn't wasting her time in the dream anymore, she needed information.

She got to the door and walked out into the night only to find that before her was sand and water. She was at the beach from her childhood, and she groaned in frustration at the senseless dream overlap.

"I need to know which building this is!" she yelled to nobody. "How am I supposed to find him if I don't know where the hell I am?"

She turned to walk back, and Merle was still facing the wall but now shaking his dick after finally managing to piss.

Tony secured him to the chair again with zip ties instead of tape this time, and she was getting tired of the helplessness of the dream, she needed answers.

"Merle!" she called on the off chance that he could hear her.

Merle didn't answer, and she looked around her for anything to indicate their whereabouts.

_**~ You've held on pretty good, Michael is impressed** _

_**~ What am I supposed to say to that? You've had me tied up like an animal for days, and I don't even know what's gonna happen to me** _

_**~ I'd say you're being tested** _

_**~ fuck this and fuck you, Tony!** _

_**~ the police are harassing everyone in Michael's organization, I think he's waiting to see if they make any arrests before he decides what to do with you** _

Carol had had enough of the bullshit, she was helpless and yet forced to see this nightmare unfolding before her.

She came to stand behind the man called Tony and decided she'd try to push him. What could it hurt?

She took a deep breath and pulled her arms back in preparation.

"I wouldn't do that."

A voice from behind her made her scream, and when she turned it was the last person she expected, it was Merle.

"But you're-"

She turned back to the chair and Merle wasn't in it anymore.

"What the fuck is happening here?" she exclaimed.

"These men are dangerous," Merle said. "You need to be careful, and so does Daryl."

"Where is this building?" she demanded. "I can't help you unless you tell me where you are!"

"Promise you'll be careful."

"I will! Where is this building, Merle?"

"It's 110 Dovetail Drive."

"Finally!" she sighed.

Carol took her phone from her pocket and typed the address into the notes, but when she looked up, Merle was back in the chair, restrained and not even looking at her anymore.

Nothing made sense and she could feel the dream unraveling, so she decided to try something strange.

She held the phone out before her, pointed it at Merle in the chair, and took a photo. The very second she did, she woke up.


	8. Chapter 8

_**You Don't Know Me, But...** _

_**Chapter 8** _

"110 Dovetail Drive...110 Dovetail Drive..."

Carol rolled over and grabbed her phone to enter the address in before she forgot, but she found that it was already in her notes.

"Michonne!" she screamed.

"Jesus! What? You're making me jumpy like a cat on caffeine, woman!" Michonne exclaimed as she ran into the room.

"I had a dream again, but I got an address! I put the address in my phone in the dream, and it's there!"

"Huh? Slow down, I can't even understand you!"

"The address is in my phone from when I put it there in my dream!"

"You're scaring the hell out of me, Carol. Are you sure you're OK?"

"I have no idea anymore if I'm OK, or sane, or if I've slipped right off the deep end but I have an address, and I need to call Daryl."

"I have to work today, but I'm afraid to leave you alone," Michonne winced.

"I'll be OK, I promise. I just have to give this address to Daryl so he can check it out."

Michonne sighed and shook her head.

"Do not let yourself get roped into danger, Carol. You don't know these people that are holding him, and if they are capable of killing a man and they catch you trying to help him, you will be in danger."

"I know."

"Just give Daryl the information and then leave it alone."

"I...OK."

"Carol."

"I need to see this through."

"Be careful."

Michonne left the room then, and Carol felt terrible for worrying her best friend, but this was life and death for Daryl's brother.

Carol remembered the picture she'd taken in her dream then and checked her phone for the last one taken and almost to her relief it didn't turn out. There was part of a chair leg, and then just bright light and no human figure was visible. She didn't really want to have to see Merle's face in her waking life, it was hard to even to remember it from the dream. All Carol wanted to do was help save him if she could, that was her only goal.

_**/** _

Michonne left within 20 minutes for a modeling shoot, and Carol called Daryl with the information.

"Hello?"

"Daryl, I have an address."

"How?"

"Another dream, and it was a weird one. I looked up the address, and it's in the area of the warehouse district where we were looking."

"Jesus! I can actually go get him now."

"He warned me in the dream that everyone needs to be very careful."

"Merle spoke to you?"

"I told you it was weird. There was also a random beach outside the front door of the warehouse...I tried to run out of the building to see where the hell it was."

"So how did you get the address if there was a beach outside?"

"Merle told me, but he said to be careful."

"So what is it? I need to make a plan and go get him."

"110 Dovetail Drive. I looked on Google maps, and it's a huge green building."

"Jesus! You're some kind of psychic lifesaver!" Daryl exclaimed.

"I don't know why this is happening, and it's scaring the hell out of me, but I'm praying you can get him back safely."

"I just can't thank you enough for this."

"If there's anything else I can do, just tell me. I know this sounds crazy, but I feel personally invested in getting him out of this. I've seen his face right in front of me, and I need to do this...even if Michonne says I shouldn't."

"I'm going to wait till nightfall, at least dusk, and then I'm gonna bring along a few guys I know with some firepower...we could use a driver."

"You got it," she answered without thinking.

"You sure? This could be dangerous."

"I'm sure. His face will haunt me if I don't do something."

"Can I come see you?" he asked. "I can bring coffee; I just want to talk some more about this."

"Sure."

_**/** _

Daryl showed up at her door shortly after and just as promised he was carrying coffee. It shouldn't have been on her mind, but she couldn't stop thinking how good he looked, he had a rugged and intensely masculine beauty about him.

"Have you ever done anything like this before?" she asked as she offered him a seat across the coffee table from her.

Taking on a gang of organized criminals was not the kind of thing she'd ever been involved in, but she didn't know much about his experiences.

"Me and Merle both grew up rough. Back in the day, we ran with some pretty bad dudes, but I took over the garage when our dad died and straightened out. I tried to get Merle to do it with me, but he had bad habits by then."

Carol didn't bother asking specifics about the 'habits'; it didn't matter to her if he wasn't an angel, she just wanted to help him.

"If these dreams are accurate then he's alive as of last night, and you can get him back," she said, hoping to lift his spirits.

"My buddies Rick, Shane and Tyreese are coming tonight, and we'll get this thing done or die tryin'."

He looked so confident and so sexy that she bit her lip and had to consciously try not to think of him naked.

"So I'm driving then?" she said.

"I don't know...I don't want to get you hurt."

"I'm coming."

"Thanks, Carol. Hopefully, we'll be in and out of there, and nobody will get hurt."

_**/** _

Merle was left in the big green warehouse that morning with a lower level functionary, and he knew if he didn't escape soon he'd be sorry.

His mind raced with thoughts of everything that would never be possible in his life if he didn't get out of there and he felt desperate. Having so much time to think without the influence of a drink or any drugs cleared his mind, and he knew what he wanted now. Merle Dixon really wanted the straight life for once, and he was willing to fight for the chance. It was almost like _It's a Wonderful Life_ , he pictured the world without him and knew it would only matter to Daryl. Merle realized then that when he left the earth, he wanted it to matter to more than one person. Merle wondered if he was the kind of man who could ever have a woman in his life, a woman who'd marry him and raise a family. He found himself hoping and hope was a powerful thing.

The guy he was with now was simple in the head, he could see that much just from watching him. There was nothing else he could use as a ploy to get distance except bathroom business, so he used that.

"Yo, buddy. I gotta go to the little boy's room," he called to the man who was playing Candy Crush on his phone.

"I ain't supposed to let you go anywhere."

"Dude, I gotta relieve myself. It ain't optional."

"You can piss in the corner I suppose," the man said as he approached him.

"I don't need to piss. Do I have to spell this out for you?"

"Where did they let you go before?" the man asked.

"There's a bathroom in the back, just stand outside the door."

"Fine."

Merle was walked to the back room where he casually slipped into the bathroom and immediately turned on the faucet to mask the sound of locking the door.

With the deadbolt on the door, he hopped onto the back of the toilet tank and started to pry at the window. The latch was stuck, and his heart sank as he realized that the idiot he was trying to fool was already banging on the door.

"Hey! Unlock the fucking door! Merle!"

He punched the window, and the glass broke into shards that scratched his skin, but he was desperate. A heavy weight was slammed against the door, and it made a sound like the deadbolt would soon give way, Merle knew he was screwed.

"Fuck!"

He pushed the window open and was halfway out when he felt a hand on his ankle.

He kicked back at the hand and caught someone in the face but the grunt he heard was not the idiot he had been trying to con, it was Michael. Apparently, Michael had just turned up in time for Merle to seal his own fate.

"You are in big trouble now, Merle. Huge fucking trouble!"

He was dragged back into the big green coffin and discovered that the beating he'd received before was nothing. What he got next in terms of punishment would take years off his life, if they let him live that is.

Within the hour he was laying on the concrete bruised and bleeding picturing the family he'd never have as he said goodbye to Daryl in his mind.


	9. Chapter 9

_**You Don't Know Me, But...** _

_**Chapter 9** _

Carol spent the day with Daryl, and she knew already that she was in deep and that she cared more than logically made sense. It was natural to want to help someone in danger, but she was sticking her neck out far beyond her obligations as a decent human being. Anyone else would have just told him about the dream and then walked away, but she couldn't do that. Carol needed to know if that frightened man she'd seen could be saved and if it was possible she wanted to help.

The day was spent talking about Merle and how he ended up in the position he had. Apparently, their father had been abusive, so Merle left home young and fell into the wrong crowd. Both Merle and Daryl had problems with substance abuse and the law in their younger years, but Daryl had overcome it. If Merle got free from this situation, Daryl prayed that his brother would finally be smart and turn over a new leaf.

"I know what Michael is capable of, everyone in this area of town knows, but nobody has any power against him."

"So, he kills people, and the cops don't even know?" she asked incredulously.

"Some of them know, but Michael comes from a long line of men who conduct business this way, and they know how to dispose of bodies without leaving a trace of evidence. I heard they pay cops off too, that's another reason I don't want to call them."

"You're a good brother, Daryl."

"I'm trying to be."

"You're succeeding," she smiled, reaching over to touch his hand.

/

When late afternoon came, Daryl brought her back to his place where he ordered Chinese food and invited his best friends Shane, Tyreese, and Rick to go over the plan.

"And who do we have here?" Shane grinned, slithering up to Carol.

"It's a long story," she shrugged.

"You're the woman with the crazy dreams that Daryl mentioned."

"That's me."

"Cool it, Shane!" Daryl reprimanded. "We gotta get Merle out of this mess, leave your flirting till later."

"Shut up! I'm just being friendly," Shane deflected.

"Uh huh," Tyreese laughed.

The men loaded up with guns, ammo and Carol watched in fascination as Daryl pulled off his coat to put on a holster against his t-shirt.

They made a plan to have Carol park a long distance away and then stay put as the raid was carried out on foot.

Carol received a call from Michonne who was frustrated to hear how involved she had become despite her warnings.

"I need to do this, I can't explain it to you," she defended.

"Then I'm coming with you," Michonne insisted. "You are not doing something this stupid without me."

"OK. I'll come pick you up on the way. There's going to be a car full now," she laughed.

"This is stupid, but you're the best friend I'll ever have, so I'm in."

"Love you," Carol sighed, hoping that she wasn't about to lead a woman who was like a sister to her into grave danger.

When the sun began to set, Shane, Tyreese, and Rick started to load up her car leaving Daryl and Carol alone in the apartment. Daryl paused and looked at her for a long moment, and she felt scared for him and for Merle. The tension felt high as they looked into each other's eyes knowing that what happened that evening could change everyone's life forever. There were so many ways it could go wrong, so many ways it could fail.

"Be careful," she said softly.

"You are giving me a real shot of seeing him again...I can never thank you enough for this."

"You don't have to; I'd just hope someone would do it for me too."

Daryl walked toward her and gave her what was meant to be a quick hug, but there was something there.

"You're not like anyone else I've ever met, Carol."

She lay her hands on his back and took in the scent of his skin and the sensation of the muscles under his shirt.

When he moved back half a step, his gaze fell to her lips, and the kiss happened slowly as if in a dream sequence. Carol could see it coming, and she went with it easily, kissing him had been on her mind since she first saw him in the garage.

His lips were strong, and he lay his hands on her waist to pull her closer, this kiss was superior to any other, and she wanted more. The man she had kissed in the bar was already a far distant memory, Daryl was different in every way.

He took a breath to ask if it was OK and Carol nodded as she pulled him back to her mouth. The heat grew quickly when she realized how much she liked him and that he might not make it out of the madness alive. Carol's hands roamed around his body and she found herself wondering if she could drag him into the bedroom before they left but there was no time for that. Letting go of each other when the guys started honking the horn on the street blow was painful but it reminded them of the more important task at hand, Merle was counting on them.

/

Michonne was waiting on the curb when they pulled up, all five of them crammed into her car.

Shane opened the back door and offered her a seat on his lap with a sly wink. Michonne rolled her eyes but slipped into the car and forced the door closed.

"I'm liking this plan already," Shane grinned, wrapping his arms loosely around her.

"Can I get your name at least?" she asked, looking back at him with a skeptical frown.

"I'm Shane, that's Rick, and he's Tyreese," he pointed.

"Nice to meet you guys," she smiled. "Y'all know this is a stupid idea, right?"

"Right," Tyreese answered, "but I gotta get this guy back...he owes me money."

They all tried to keep it light, but the obvious nerves were undeniable.

Carol drove and looked over at Daryl, wishing there was another way to attain the same result. This plan was 95% risk.

She watched as he checked the clip of his handgun again and slipped the magazine back in. He breathed out slow and heavy as she got closer to the industrial area.

Carol was instructed to pull up between two large C-cans, she never knew what those huge steel containers for transporting goods were called before.

"Nobody will see your car, and it's a pretty long walk from here," Daryl said, taking her hand and speaking fast. "Just stay put, unless you run into trouble of course. If you see anyone besides us, just get the hell out of here and don't look back."

"But-" she began.

"Promise me."

"I promise."

Daryl and his crew left the car and had a short chat outside the vehicle before disappearing around the side of the C-can and out of site.

Michonne came to sit next to her in the front seat, and they were left with nothing but time and anxiety until they heard what the outcome was.

"So you and Daryl are getting cozy?" Michonne asked.

"I couldn't really help it...he's a good man, and he's too beautiful to stay away from," she sighed.

"He's got some serious drama in his life, but I can't say I blame you, he is pretty fine."

"I hope they're OK. I'm still stunned that they can't call the police. You hear about corruption, but it's hard to imagine it outside of a conspiracy theory."

"Some cops are crooked as a three dollar bill. The system isn't always fair for everyone," Michonne informed her with a shrug.

"I can only imagine...so what about Shane?" she grinned.

"What about him?" Michonne deflected.

"Come on; you are not the 'sitting on a stranger's lap' type. You let him wrap his arms around you and everything."

"Shut up...alright he's kinda cute. Happy?"

"Happy, but very nervous."

"Yeah, me too. How did we end up here?" Michonne sighed.

"Fluke? Fate? Who knows anymore."*


	10. Chapter 10

_**You Don't Know Me, But...** _

_**Chapter 10** _

Daryl figured it was best to break up the group a little so he walked with Rick as Shane and Tyreese headed in another direction.

"We can all meet up at the building but we should fan out in case they have guys standing guard, they deal a lot of drugs in this area so who knows."

Tyreese and Shane headed in the southern direction to circle around the building and discussed how lucky they'd be to get out of there alive.

"Are we really about to die for Merle Dixon?" Shane chuckled.

"No, I'm about to maybe die for Daryl. He needs his brother."

"True, he's a sucker for his big brother no matter how much of a fuck up he is," Shane agreed.

"I tell you what, though. If I ever see Merle screwing up again I'll beat him senseless myself. Merle is always dodging some lowlife."

They finally made it to the building and crept slowly around to the back door where a lower window was open a crack so they took the chance to just listen and get a feel for the situation. What they heard made it clear that shit was about to go down, bad shit.

"I'm done playing games, Merle, and just for breaking my fucking nose I'm gonna bust your goddamn head for you."

"Michael, I didn't think it was you! I thought it was that little pissant!" Merle defended, pointing to the idiot with no name.

Shane and Tyreese looked through the filthy window and could see Merle sitting in a chair with his hands zip tied to the arm rests. He was only in a pair of boxers and looked like he'd had the shit beat out of him for days.

Michael was holding a heavy sledgehammer and they both shuddered at the realization that all the rumors in the neighborhood were true. Apparently, Michael really would take a hammer to your skull if you crossed him.

"Any last words, Merle?"

"Don't do this," he said calmly. "I ain't about to beg and cry but...just don't do this."

Michael laughed, and the sound was loud and evil. He loved the power and that was evident.

"Lay that chair back on the ground, boys," he grinned. "How many strikes before his head looks like a smashed pumpkin? Any bets?"

Unbelievably there was some banter about bets and the small group of men stood around casually watching as Merle began to fight the restraints.

Tyreese raised his weapon and Shane watched in stunned amazement as he squinted and lined up the most dangerous shot in the world.

"Jesus...are you sure? What if you miss?" Shane whispered.

"I want my $100 back," Tyreese whispered.

Michael raised the hammer, and Merle finally broke.

"Please! Don't!" he yelled with his eyes shut tight. "Please, God! Don't!"

Only a split second later Shane was deafened by the gun blast right next to his ear.

The world went black for a minute and Daryl came running around from the other side of the building with Rick in toe.

"What happened?"

Tyreese got to his feet slowly and shook his head.

"I...Michael...fuck me!"

Daryl looked in through the window and some of Michael's men were standing over Michael's body and pointing their weapons at the window from where the shot had come. He couldn't see Merle.

"This is a gun fight now, boys!" Shane announced. "Michael's dead!"

The rest of Michael's gang tried to take aim and were positioning themselves around the huge wearhouse looking for cover.

Daryl just wanted to see Merle, he wanted confirmation that he was still alive.

_**/** _

Carol and Michonne heard the shots being fired and started to panic.

"We have to go!" Michonne insisted. "This is well beyond a joke now, Carol."

"I can't go! We should call the police."

"Are you determined to get yourself killed?" Michonne exclaimed.

She was losing patience with Carol and the whirlwind they were caught up in.

Carol took out her phone and dialed 911, enough was enough, and she was going to do something.

"There are shots being fired at 110 Dovetail Drive, police and ambulance are urgently needed! This is not a joke! Please, hurry!"

The operator tried to ask her questions but she hung up before she could answer. Carol was never involved with the police and she was not interested in getting involved now if she could help it. Maybe the cops were crooked, and maybe they weren't but this was an emergency now.

_**/** _

Daryl fired into the warehouse at any movement he could see squirming behind crates and shelves but didn't seem to be hitting anything. All four men just returned fire and then reloaded until it felt like they'd made some impact but there was heavy dust in the air and when Daryl finally focused on the deluge he still couldn't see Merle. Enough was enough.

"I'm going in there!" Daryl hollered to the others, and before they could stop him, he was running in through a side door.

"He's going to get himself killed!" Shane exclaimed.

"I'll go with him then," Rick answered and turned to follow him inside.

"You wanna die too?" Tyreese shouted.

"He's one of my best friends!" Rick answered and immediately disappeared.

_**/** _

"Merle!" Daryl called, unafraid to die and determined to help the one relative he had. "Merle!"

He heard groaning and approached it slowly.

Rick followed behind Daryl and touched his shoulder to let him know he was with him.

"You didn't have to come."

"Of course I did, don't be stupid."

Out of nowhere, a random shot was fired through a doorway to their left, and Daryl growled and hit the ground.

Rick grabbed him around his chest and dragged him behind a crate for cover.

"Fuck! Rick...where am I hit?" he panted from the ground grasping his shoulder.

"It's not through your chest but don't move anyway; it could have hit an artery."

Rick put pressure on the wound and peeked his head out to look around the huge space.

"Daryl?"

Daryl's skin broke out in goosebumps cause the voice was unmistakable.

The sound was weak and mournful, but it was still him.

"You stay here; I'll find him," Rick insisted, handing Daryl his jacket to hold against the wound.

Rick held his gun raised and crept carefully toward the sound of heavy breathing.

"Merle...Merle..."

"I'm here," Merle replied.

Rick came upon Merle on the ground as well, still strapped to the chair but shoved in a closet.

"You OK? Daryl's shot," Rick informed him.

"Fuck! We gotta get him to help!" Merle insisted as Rick cut his hands free of the arm rests.

"How'd you get in here?" Rick asked. "Last I saw you were about to have your head smashed by that wack job Michael."

"One of his cronies dragged me in here as everyone started firing, he didn't have a knife to cut me loose, though...maybe without Michael that war is over."

"Only until there's a new boss," Rick sighed.

They both headed back to Daryl, who was groaning but still had good color in his face.

"Daryl! You gonna live?" Merle gasped, dropping to the ground to lift his head up into his lap.

"Yeah...just damn near dyin' trying to save your ass," he moaned.

"We're gonna get you outta here," Rick insisted.

"Better hurry it up...I hear sirens," Merle added.

None of them wanted to deal with the police but it was much too late when only minutes later the warehouse was inundated with cops and then paramedics.

"Daryl, hang on," Merle said, holding him tight and knowing that soon they'd be swarmed and separate by the authorities. "I'll make you proud of me...thank you for coming."


	11. Chapter 11

_**You Don't Know Me,** _ _**B** _ _**ut...** _

_**Chapter 11** _

Daryl rolled over in a hospital bed and found that Merle was next to him.

"Merle..." he whispered, his voice was weak.

"You OK?"

"I'm gonna be...I think. What did the doctor say?"

"It went through the muscle in your shoulder so it's going to take time to heal and you'll probably need physio. They put you out for surgery."

Daryl looked down at his arm and eyed an IV line.

"They got you on pain meds."

"What about the police?" Daryl asked.

"The doctors checked me out, and then I spent hours being talked to by the pigs. I told them the reason I almost wound up dead was for turning informant, so it was their fault. The only way it could have gotten to Trish is through their department, I figure. She fucks a lot of vice cops."

"Trish is the one who ratted on you?"

"Yeah," Merle sighed. "The cops interrogated Tyreese for ages for taking out Michael, but they ain't charging him. Me and the rest of the guys made statements about what he was about to do to me. It's extenuating circumstances when you're trying to save someone's life, and they weren't sad to have Michael taken out anyway."

"I'm just glad we're both alive to tell the tale. I missed you, brother," Daryl said, smiling weakly up at him. Daryl's mind was still foggy with good pain meds, so all of the questions he should have been asking took time to arise.

Merle squeezed his forearm and smiled, he was just so glad to even see his brother's face again.

"You came for me...how the hell did you ever find me?" he asked.

"I never would have found you without Carol. Wait! Where is she? Is she alright?"

"Who?"

"It's such a long story," Daryl sighed when he tried to think of how to explain it without sounding insane.

"Is this a girlfriend of yours? I didn't even think you were seeing anyone."

"Carol just showed up at the shop a couple days back and said she dreamed about you in the warehouse. She doesn't know either of us, and she's from out of town, but she knew from the dreams where to find you."

"That sounds crazy, Daryl."

"I know, but crazy or not she's the reason you're alive right now."

"So where do we get a hold of her? I need to say thank you," Merle asked.

"Hand me my phone, and I'll give her a call...I guess she and Michonne must have taken off. They better be OK, or I'll never forgive myself."

/

"Hello?"

"Carol."

"Daryl! Oh my God! Are you OK?"

"Yeah...I'm gonna be OK. I just woke up from surgery."

"What happened?" she exclaimed.

"I took a bullet in the shoulder, but I'll recover."

"Is Merle OK too?"

"Everyone is OK. Merle is right here with me."

"Thank God!"

"What happened to you?"

"We waited for you, me and Michonne, and then we heard so many gunshots. I called the police and the ambulance, I didn't want anyone dying. Soon the place was swarmed, and we waited, but nobody ever came back to the car. We were too scared to check it out, and we didn't think there was much we could do anyway. I called the hospital over and over, but they wouldn't tell me anything."

"We're all OK thanks to you, Carol," he smiled just from hearing her voice again. "I told Merle about you, and he hardly believes it."

"He's not the only one," she laughed. "When are you getting out?"

Daryl asked Merle and was informed that he'd be in for one more night according to the doctor.

"One more night. Are you still at Michonne's place?"

"Yes."

"Can I see you tomorrow?" Daryl asked. "Now that all the drama is settled down, maybe we could still see each other? If you wanted to."

"I'd love to," she smiled. "Take it easy and call me when you get released. I'll come pick you up."

"OK. Thanks again, for everything."

"Don't mention it. Talk soon."

_**/** _

Merle was in rough shape himself, but it was mainly cuts and bruises, and after he had managed to eat some food and take some painkillers, he felt a little more human. Anything after not being killed was a good day, and he wasn't about to take his life for granted anymore.

The doctors checked him over for broken ribs, dehydration and anything else they could but he was built like an ox, and he'd be fine in a week or so. The hard part would be getting the memory of his near execution out of his head. Almost every time he closed his eyes he saw that hammer and heard the sound of cold men making bets about his demise.

Merle sat next to Daryl's bed most of the night and just watched him sleep. He was in no mood to be in his neighborhood at the moment, and it didn't feel right to leave Daryl alone after what he'd done for him.

The mystery of this woman who didn't even know him was intriguing, and he wanted to know what compelled her to help him. Most of the people he actually did know in his life had no special urge to help him, never mind a complete stranger.

He finally drifted off on a cot next to his brother's hospital bed and slept like the dead until morning. The peace of mind he had from knowing he hadn't gotten Daryl killed was something he couldn't just write off, he needed to change things for the better.

From then on Merle was going to seek help to let go of his demons and keep his damn nose clean. It was one thing to consistently put his own life in danger, but his actions affected Daryl too. He'd be working at the garage from then on and minding his own business. If he was lucky, maybe there'd be a whole new start for him.

His past was filled with women like Trish, women who'd turn you in as soon as look at you. Maybe if he straightened out his life he could find someone to see past his failings and give him a shot, it was worth a try anyway. Merle lay looking up at the hospital ceiling and smiled, it was the start of a journey, but at least he was alive to try.

_**/** _

In the morning Daryl needed help from Merle getting dressed with his extremely sore shoulder and then he called Carol for a ride home.

"You'll really like her, she's great," Daryl smiled.

"It's kinda weird, isn't it? Is she a fortune teller or something?" Merle asked.

"She just had these dreams, and nobody can explain it, it's never happened to her before. I guess it's best to just be glad it happened."

"I guess so, I just never heard of something like this actually happening. Why would she care about me anyway?"

"She's an incredible person, Merle. She stuck her neck out for you just cause she knew it was the right thing to do and she never asked for anything in return."

"Sounds like quite a woman," Merle noted.

"Yep! She's all mine, though, go find your own," he teased as Merle helped him into the wheelchair.

"Maybe I could try to find someone...but first I need to get my life straight."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. It was me and my stupid lifestyle that almost got you killed and it ain't happening again."

"I'm glad to hear you're changing things, Merle, but don't go carrying guilt around about it. We both lived, it's over now."

"I'll try, but you're my only family, seeing you like this is brutal for me."

"Maybe Carol will take care of me and make me all better," Daryl winked.

"How can you even think of sex right now?"

"It's a good sign, right?"

"I guess it is," Merle laughed as he wheeled him down to the front entrance of the hospital to wait for Carol.


	12. Chapter 12

_**You Don't Know Me, But...** _

_**Chapter 12** _

A car pulled up and out walked a beautiful woman with short sandy brown hair and the biggest blue eyes Merle had ever seen, maybe this was his savior.

The look Merle received from her made him feel strange, it was like she knew him. After she hugged and kissed Daryl for a few minutes, she turned her attention to him and came close to ask if she could hug him as well.

"Sure," he shrugged. "If you want to."

"I know this doesn't make a lot of sense to you, but it feels like I know you already."

"I heard," he answered as he wrapped her up in his arms. "Thank you...thank you so much."

Merle hadn't hugged a woman in ages, and even if this woman was his brother's girl, it still felt nice to have someone so pretty want to touch him.

"I'm just so glad you're both OK now," she sighed.

Carol helped Daryl into the front seat and pointed for Merle to get into the back. Her car wasn't huge, but it would get them all back to Daryl's place.

"Oh! Hey there!" Merle exclaimed when he found that there was a woman in the back seat, easily the prettiest woman he'd ever seen.

"Hi," she answered.

She smiled at him, and he felt awkward as hell right off the hop, but that's when his rambling usually kicked in.

"You look like a hundred miles of rough road," Michonne winced when she got a better look at his bruises and cuts.

"I had a rough couple of days," he chuckled. "I swear I'm less ugly usually."

"I didn't say anything about ugly," she corrected.

"I'm Merle," he said, offering her his hand.

"Michonne."

"That's a pretty name, I never met a Michonne before."

"Most people haven't around here."

She rolled her eyes and laughed, but she seemed friendly enough.

Merle didn't have a prayer with a woman like her, but he'd always take a smile if he could get it.

"You Carol's friend?" he pushed.

"Yes, and you're Daryl's brother," she noted. "We found ourselves in quite a pickle trying to get you back."

"Yeah, I'm sorry about all that. I'm turning over a whole new leaf though now, no more trouble with me," he insisted.

"That's good to hear, redemption is always just one choice away."

"I'm gonna try my best," he smiled.

_**/** _

Back at Daryl's house, Carol walked Daryl to his room to spend some time alone as Michonne and Merle chatted in the living room.

"I was so scared for you," she whispered as she held him close on his bed.

"I was kinda scared for me too. I was scared I wouldn't see you again."

"It turned into a bit of a mess, didn't it?" she mused.

"It was a mess to begin with, and there was no reason for you to want to help us...you're incredible, Carol."

Thoughts of Luke were like distant memories already, and all she could see ahead of her was Daryl, it's like she was meant to find him. After the way she'd been treated by a man she trusted for 2 years, there's no way she should have trusted Daryl so easily, but she did.

Carol lay beside him and held his hand in hers just looking at his perfect face and feeling grateful that he was OK. Her life didn't feel like hers lately and yet laying with him felt like the only place on earth she belonged in that moment.

He turned toward her as much as he could and kissed her lips softly.

"I can't wait till I feel better. I want to show you how I really feel," he smiled.

"Sounds good to me," Carol agreed and took her time to kiss him back for a while. "Maybe I could show you how I feel instead...until you feel better."

Daryl's eyes went wide as she rose up over him and awaited a response.

"Yeah?"

"You up for it?" she winked. "I can be nice and gentle."

"Damn!" he answered with a boyish grin.

Carol unfastened his jeans and slipped her hand inside as she leaned over to kiss his neck and she could feel his need.

"You're so hot, Carol...I want you so bad," he hissed as he tried to get his good arm around her.

"Just lay back and lemme take care of you," she insisted as she urged his manhood out of his pants.

"Fuuuuck me," he groaned when she began touching him and kissing his lips.

Carol worked her hand on him and drew moans from his mouth that made her wish he wasn't injured. She wondered how far to take it but found that he was enjoying it more than enough already. She wanted more, but for now, this was perfect.

"That's so good," he groaned as he raised his good arm to feel her breasts through her shirt.

Unbelievably, he was ready to cum in less than five minutes, and by this point, he was biting softly at her throat and panting naughty words into her ear.

"When I'm better I want you under me, Carol. I want you moaning my name...I'm gonna give you everything."

"Jesus," she whined as he slid his hand into her shirt to tease her nipples. "I want you, Daryl...it sucks to have to wait."

His heavy breathing was so sexy, and she could already imagine them tangled up in each other's bodies.

The fire grew to the tallest treetops and then the damn broke, dousing the flames in cool water.

He came onto her hand, and she grinned, wishing he felt better already. They were going to be all consuming in bed together.

Carol insisted he take the pain meds the ER doctor gave him and get some rest and he only fought her a little.

"Just think, the more you rest, the sooner you'll be better. When you've recovered just a little more, I'll stay the night."

"Alright, I'll sleep, but please call me later."

"I will, I promise," she insisted and kissed him once more before tucking him in.

/

Carol had only been in the bedroom for about 20 minutes but when she walked back into the living room it seemed like much longer to Merle.

He fumbled through awkward chit chat with Michonne, and it was a little painful. He had a feeling that she knew too many bad things about him to want to say very much.

Still, Carol looked happy to see him and gave him another tight hug. Michonne excused herself to get home and rest for work the next day, and Carol said she'd be back soon, she just wanted to chat with Merle for a little while.

"Daryl told me about your dreams, but it still doesn't make any sense to me," Merle said, leaning back on the couch and looking at her with great interest.

"I've always had strange dreams but never anything like this...I could see you taped to that chair and it killed me," she said.

"But how did you know it was real?"

"I heard you mention your brother's name, so I looked him up...you asked Tony to tell your brother what happened to you if you died."

"Jesus Christ!" Merle shuddered. "I did say that!"

He couldn't get his mind around it at all, and it creeped him out if he was being honest.

"I need to thank you somehow properly. I need to get a hold of Tyreese, Rick, and Shane too. I never thought so many people gave a shit if I lived or died."

"I cared, and I don't even know you," she smiled. "Maybe you're worth so much more than you believe."

"I can see why my brother likes you so much."

"Yeah?"

"Yep, you're soft-hearted," he laughed. "I'm gonna try and turn this ship around, though, now that I got a chance."

"That's what Daryl was hoping for; he was completely distraught over this. He'll be happy to know you won't be looking for trouble anymore."

Merle really did like her already, Carol wasn't like most of the women he knew...most of them were more like Trish.

Carol spent a little more time with him, and he said he'd be staying to take care of Daryl for a few days, he didn't want to go back to his place for a while yet.

_**/** _

"I'm so wrecked!" Michonne sighed, laying back on the couch later that evening.

"I'm ordering supper, and then we need to crash...I'm sorry for how this week has gone. It was supposed to be relaxing, right?"

"Hey, you having that soft-heart is half the reason I love you," Michonne grinned.

"That's so weird," Carol mused. "Merle just called me soft-hearted too."

"Maybe he has a good read on people. That might help him avoid trouble in the future."

"He says he's going to be getting help with all of that; I really hope that's true."

"Only time will tell," Michonne said. "Order me some Thai food now, no more talkie!"

Carol laughed and grabbed the phone book to get the food rolling.

"You staying for a few more days?" Michonne asked. "You'll want to hang out with your new little boyfriend, right?"

"Well, you did say you'd help me find a place," she grinned.

"Come stay with me till you find a place and I guarantee I could find you some catalog work until you get set up with your own clients."

"Deal; I'm ready to never see Athens again."

"Amen to that!"

Apparently, this is exactly what Michonne had been waiting for. Carol was excited to be back with her friend again and with Daryl in her life too it could be a whole new start.


	13. Chapter 13

_**You Don't Know Me, But...** _

_**Chapter 13** _

The week after his release from hell made Merle wonder which way was up, but he was excited to be alive. He was still beaten up and sore, but he had a chance now, and the bruises would heal in time.

Still, the days he spent with Tony wouldn't fade from his memory quickly, no matter how hard he tried. He had almost died in the most horrific way imaginable and almost gotten his brother killed as well. Merle felt that he owed it to Daryl to get his life straight now, and he was going to do it this time.

The first step was to see a doctor, and he found just the one he needed by sheer luck. Herschel Greene was a no nonsense old school doctor who provided a comprehensive plan for Merle's recovery. He was laid out on a table covered in paper and subjected to the most thorough examination of his life and then given strict orders to commit to the plan. He was poked and prodded and given a series of blood tests. Herschel was determined to help him get healthy when Merle explained how much it meant to him and what he'd been through. Merle was given all the information he needed and was set up with a therapist who specialized in addiction counseling. All he had to do was stick to it and knew this time that he would. Every time Daryl winced in pain about his shoulder he felt like a complete asshole.

Merle had heard about the crack from Tyreese concerning the hundred dollars he wanted back, so he pawned some speakers from his apartment to get the money. He had to see him to tell him how grateful he was and that he had turned over a new leaf. With the hundred dollars in his back pocket, he buzzed Ty's apartment and waited for him to answer.

"Yeah?"

"Hey, man, it's me," he answered.

Everyone knew his voice, so he didn't have to specify.

"I'll be right down, I gotta walk to the store."

A minute later Tyreese was opening the front door of his building, and Merle felt compelled to hug him.

"What the fuck?" Tyreese laughed, holding up his arms and stiffening with shock.

"Sorry...I'm just so thankful that you did what you did," Merle explained.

"I guess it was pretty scary for you, huh? Did you learn your lesson?"

"I did, I swear. I ain't gonna get so much as a speeding ticket ever again."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the money for Tyreese which made them both laugh.

"I was wondering if I'd see this money again," Tyreese chuckled.

"Told ya, Ty. I'm a new man," Merle insisted.

"Happy to hear it. I was inches away from being charged by the police so don't forget how bad this could have been."

"I know. Thanks a lot...you're one of the good ones. You ever need anything, I'm your man."

_**/** _

Merle spent his time with Daryl and Carol that week while she was still in the city and by proxy, he got to see more of Michonne. He liked her, but he didn't bother doing anything about it. Shane was making his intentions known anyway, and he couldn't compete with that. Still, she was nice to him, she'd laugh at his jokes, and it made him feel good.

When he heard from Carol that Michonne was going to dinner with Shane, it did hurt, but it made complete sense to him. Merle was in no position to ask for more than being alive at that time so he counted his blessings and focused on what he could have in life.

The therapist he was seeing asked him what he was most afraid of and he said he was scared that it was too late for him to change.

"Maybe I've been a screw up for so long that nobody will ever see me differently."

He was told that it could take a while, but in time people would see that he was sincere and accept that he was serious about changing. Merle hoped that was the case.

_**/** _

Carol stayed for the next few days before she was planning to return home and load up her apartment in Athens for the big move. With no more unusual dreams she was able to rest her mind and think more about her future. She wanted to be sure that Daryl was OK before she left and thankfully he seemed to be healing quickly. He had some appointments for PT that would help him get the strength back, and he didn't have excessive pain.

Carol was pleasantly surprised to find that Daryl was the most straight up and honest man she'd ever met. He was brave and loyal and so disarming in his earnest manner. She could ask him anything about himself, and she always got a straightforward answer.

He told her all about his troubled past with Merle and how close he'd come to ending up just like him. He admitted to taking hard drugs, getting arrested and kicking a lot of ass in his day and it didn't compute with who he was now.

"You're living proof that your past doesn't have to define you," she smiled.

"I hope so, I was a damn fool for a long time," he mused. "I want more now, though, I want it all."

"I think you could have anything you wanted," she insisted. "You deserve it."

"You're a little too sweet, Carol...don't ever change," he laughed.

On the last night before she was heading home to pack up her place, she and Michonne had dinner at Daryl's apartment.

They still couldn't figure out her dreams even after discussing it at length, none of it made a lick of sense to anyone.

"I guess it don't really matter why," Merle chuckled over dinner. "I'm just glad it happened."

"Me too," Carol smiled, leaning into him on the couch as Daryl did the dishes. "It was a hell of a week, but all's well that ends well, right?"

"Yep! I didn't get my head smashed in, so I'm a happy camper," he laughed.

Michonne laughed herself silly at that comment and rolled her eyes at his casual manner about such a serious event.

"You're totally unglued, Merle," she sighed.

"I am what I am," he smiled, not really knowing what to say.

"You're funny," she added.

"Oh...well, thanks."

Talking to a woman like Michonne could never be normal, she was too beautiful to be completely real to him. He was used to women who were constantly half cut, with unbrushed hair, and smelled like booze. Michonne was like an angel. Being a model, she tended to wear fancy clothes and always smelled of expensive perfume. If Shane messed her around even a little, Merle was planning to kick his teeth in.

"So, how's things with Shane?"

He couldn't resist asking, maybe it was masochistic, but he had to know.

"It's OK," she answered. "It was just dinner."

"He's a decent guy...you could do a lot worse," Merle added.

"He's nice, but he's a little cocky," she shrugged.

"He doesn't mean anything by it, I don't think," Merle explained.

By the time Michonne went home, Merle could tell that Daryl and Carol wanted to be alone so he said he'd be heading back to his own place.

"You sure?" Daryl asked. "You can stay."

"Nah, you two need your alone time before she heads back and I gotta get back to my own place anyway. You can manage without me now."

"Call me in the morning, OK?" Daryl said, walking him to the door to chat privately.

"I'll call ya tomorrow. Have fun!" Merle winked.

"Hey, Merle," Daryl said when they were in the privacy of the doorway. "Why'd you say all that nice shit about Shane tonight? I thought you liked her."

"I do. How could any man not like her?" he chuckled.

"So then why-"

"She ain't for me, Daryl."

"Why not?"

"I don't think she likes me, not like that anyway."

"You'll never know if you don't try with anyone," Daryl informed him.

"She's with Shane now anyway."

"It was just one dinner, Merle, they ain't married."

"I made a fucking mess of my life, brother. Michonne already knows what a fuck up I am so it's too late...maybe she'll be my friend, though."

"Merle-"

"Just look at her, Daryl...and look at me," Merle sighed. "You enjoy your night. Carol's waitin' on you in there. I'm gonna be fine. I'm just lucky to be alive, right?"

_**/** _

Daryl walked back into his apartment and knew he'd be discussing Merle with Carol, but from the look in her eyes, it would have to wait...she looked like she was starving for him.

_**########################################** _

_**Finally, smut is on its way! (and it's an entire chapter;)** _


	14. Chapter 14

_**You Don't Know Me, But...** _

_**Chapter 14** _

Carol had waited all week to be intimate and she prayed as Daryl walked toward her that he was ready. She'd take it easy, but she needed him to be hers that night.

"Are you up to this?" she asked when he was standing right before her.

"Yes. It'll have to be a little gentle but I want to," he said, taking her face in his hands and kissing her softly.

There was nothing in the world like Daryl's kiss and the way he closed his eyes was so sexy to her. When she'd peek at his perfect face as he kissed her, he always looked so into it that he appeared almost dreamlike.

He turned his head and soon their tongues were colliding, their hands couldn't seem to pull the other close enough. They had done some serious heavy petting and kissing all week but it wasn't nearly enough anymore.

He began to walk her down the hallway to his bedroom and along the way her shirt was dropped in the hallway and then his. They fell onto the bed in a tangle of limbs and lust and Carol had never felt so high on desire before.

Just as she imagined, he was over her and his forearms came to rest on either side of her face as he kissed her. Having him kneeling between her open thighs was a heavenly tease and she desperately wanted them both out of their jeans, she craved the contact of his body against hers.

Daryl's hand crept down her body to the back of her knee where he pulled it up around his hip and ground his obvious hardness against the crotch of her jeans.

"Oh...damn it," she whined. "I need you."

He responded by taking her hard by the ass and repeating the same grinding motion. He was too evil to be good, and too good to be evil.

It was half raging sexual tryst, and half sleepy make-out session and the combination was perfect.

He kissed from her neck to her breasts and wrestled her bra off with her partial assistance. It had been a little while for them both, she could tell.

He cupped her breast and kissed closer and closer to her nipple as she squirmed beneath him in eager anticipation.

When his hot mouth finally closed around her entire areola, she melted into the mattress with a whiny moan that made his blood boil.

Daryl was spurred on by the breathy and desperate noises she made, he'd never heard anything like it before.

"Tell me you want it," he growled, and she pleaded with him for more.

Daryl couldn't take any more so he tore at the button of her jeans and yanked them down her legs in a fit of passion. He buried his face in her panties and she giggled playfully which he loved. Just taking in the scent of her arousal was intoxicating and soon he was licking all around the elastic of her panties.

He didn't want to admit it but his shoulder was hurting from leaning on it and when he winced she insisted he stay on his back.

"Come bring it over here then," he teased, and she apparently knew just what he meant.

"OK, but I'm taking care of you too," she said.

She had never done this with a man the first time she slept with him, but she had a feeling he'd be into it.

Daryl pulled her leg over his head with his good arm, and she leaned over his perfect chest and belly as he raised his mouth to taste her.

"Oh Christ!" she cried out.

His soft wet lips drifted across hers as she brought her mouth down on his throbbing dick. It was like an infinite loop of pleasure and she never wanted it to stop. Daryl pulled her body down to his mouth and teased his tongue all over her folds, making her gasp from the surge of blood rushing to her core.

She worked his dick with her hand and her mouth and he was tensing up as his balls pulled in closer to his body, he was close.

She couldn't help rolling her self against his mouth and he moaned into her flesh with a deep growl. It was like nothing else in the whole world, Daryl was the man she was meant to find and the dream made complete sense, this was part of why it had happened.

Daryl didn't want to cum this way, and if it didn't stop soon, he knew he would.

"I have to-" he began but she knew what he meant and pulled her leg back over his head, grinning down at him from the foot of the bed.

"I gotta have you, Carol," he panted.

"Then come get me," she teased.

In what felt like a long two minutes he had grabbed a condom and was laying next to her on the bed, pulling her leg up against his chest. He slid into her from the side and she made a sound like she was almost in pain but it was so sexy it made all his hair stand on end.

"You good?" he whispered.

"Oh fuck yes...keep going."

He held her thigh up and open against his chest and fucked her from behind as she held her arms over her face and whined rhythmically.

"Oh...Daryl, you fuck me so good!" she breathed, and he went a little harder just cause he needed to show her he was up for it.

She made him crack when she lowered her hand down between her legs to touch herself, he thought he'd died and gone to heaven. He peered over her thigh at the way her fingers rested on either side of her clit and moved in sleepy circles as he filled her over and over again with his stone hard cock.

"Oh fuck, oh fuck, Carol..." he repeated as he tried not to cum before she did, he could hear that she was almost there.

She arched her back and slid her fingers down around either side of his dick and added a little pressure that almost killed him it felt so good. His face was right next to hers and he could see the sheen of sweat on her forehead as she muttered his name with a weakness in her voice.

"I'm...oh fuuuuuck!" she whined, and that was it.

Her pussy contracted a few times on his dick and he clung to her raised thigh as he finished off with a string of exclamations he'd never remember.

/

Daryl kissed her face and her neck as she caught her breath and he couldn't stop smiling.

"I can't wait till you live here," he said, pulling his blanket over them both and squeezing her tight with his good arm.

"Me neither, there's nothing I'll miss about my home town," she smiled, snuggling her head into his neck.

"Nothing?"

"Nothing, I should have left a long time ago."

"I guess that's where your ex lives, huh?" he asked.

Carol was a little surprised to find that she had forgotten all about Luke, but she was also overjoyed.

"Yep. He doesn't get to me anymore, though," she smiled, taking his hand in hers.

"That's good, just think of happy stuff," Daryl yawned.

"Deal."

She drifted off in his arms and found that being held by Daryl made any memory of Luke feel pathetic by comparison, Daryl was all that mattered now.

It was easily the strangest way for two people to meet and fall for each other, but Merle was alive and they had each other. Carol figured it must have been meant to be somehow and that she didn't need to question it.


	15. Chapter 15

_**You Don't Know Me, But...** _

_**Chapter 15** _

A week later Carol was ready to move, and she half wondered if she was insane to be uprooting her life so fast, that was until Daryl and Merle showed up by surprise with Michonne the night before she was supposed to leave. They had all come down in Merle's truck on a whim after bumping into each other and deciding that maybe Carol could use a hand.

"Thought we'd help ya finish packing," Merle said, as he walked casually into her home.

"Come on in, guys," she smiled, leaning in to hug Michonne and then Daryl.

"We missed you already," Daryl grinned.

"Awwww!" she laughed.

They all spent the evening packing up the last of her boxes, and she played music to ease the tedium. Carol would normally grab a case of beer when she was moving, but she wasn't about to make life harder for Merle. He already looked like a different man now. The bruises had healed, and he dressed differently now, he was in khakis and a white undershirt with a black button up shirt on top. Merle and Daryl didn't look alike, but they both looked good in their own way.

"Damn, it's a hot one tonight," Merle groaned as he tossed the black shirt over the back of a chair and proceeded to lift a huge box to place by the front door. Merle's arms were huge, and his broad chest was rippled with muscle.

Michonne was still seeing Shane casually, but Carol hadn't noticed any conversations about him and how much she liked him. Michonne would normally go on and on about men she liked, but she was staying pretty quiet about Shane.

They all packed boxes and wrote on the outside what each one contained until it was almost midnight.

"I better head back to the city," Merle said as he reached for his shirt.

"You can stay if you want," Carol offered.

"It's OK, I gotta open the shop in the morning, but I'll meet you at Michonne's place tomorrow to do the heavy lifting," he smiled.

"You're the best, Merle, thank you," Carol beamed, offering him another nice hug.

He didn't think of Carol as more than his brother's girl and a friend but he really liked her hugs, they just made him feel good.

"Can I get a ride back with you?" Michonne asked. "I was going to stay, but I just thought of something I want to get done before we move Carol's stuff in."

"You leaving too?" Carol whined.

"I'm going to shampoo the carpet in your new room and get some other stuff done. I'll see you first thing though, OK?"

Carol shrugged her shoulders, a little disappointed, but just nodded and said goodbye to them both.

/

Merle sat down in the driver's seat and looked over at Michonne by his side for a quick second. He wondered what they'd talk about all alone but figured they'd think of something, so he just fired up the truck.

"So," she began, "how's everything going with your therapy?"

He wasn't really ashamed to be in therapy, he knew that he needed it, but it sucked that she knew all about his failings.

"It's good...it's weird but good."

"Weird?"

"Yeah, I go to this office and a woman I only just met starts asking me about my childhood. It's all I can do to keep my shit together," he laughed, trying to make light of his embarrassing therapy sessions.

"That must be really difficult for you," she offered softly.

"She keeps tellin' me it's OK to cry, but that's the kind of thing I used to get beaten for. It's hard to turn that switch off after all these years...sorry, you don't wanna hear about all of that," he sighed.

"I asked because I genuinely want to know, and if it means anything, I'm really proud of you."

He smiled and kept his eyes on the road ahead.

"That means a whole lot to me, thank you."

The highway stretched out ahead of them, and it was dark save for the headlights of his truck. Michonne slouched back on the bench seat, and he could feel her staring at him.

"What?" he asked.

"Nothing. Are you too pretty to look at?" she teased.

"Pfft! You're a real comedian, Covergirl!" he shot back, nudging her knee playfully across the seat.

He had taken to calling her 'Covergirl' as a pet name. She was the only woman he'd ever met who'd ever actually been on the cover of a magazine. She always smiled when he called her that and rolled her pretty eyes so he figured he'd keep it up.

When he found that his hand lingered on her knee too long, he said "sorry" and pulled his hand back.

"Why are you sorry?" she giggled in confusion.

"Cause you and Shane are a thing so...I shouldn't touch you like that," he explained.

"It was just a few dates, and I'm fine with it," she insisted, nudging his knee back.

"Just checkin'. I keep waiting for the day I piss you off, and you stop talkin' to me."

"I can't see that happening, Merle," she answered.

The rest of the way back they talked about everything and nothing all at once, and he liked her even more by the time he dropped her off.

"See you tomorrow, Merle."

"Yeah, see ya."

"Thanks for the ride."

"Think nothing of it," he smiled.

He waited until she was safely inside her building before driving away and he was even more committed to his sobriety than ever. Maybe if he stuck with it and kept working hard, he could find someone half as nice and pretty as her.

/

The next day they moved Carol from Athens to Atlanta. It was a long and exhausting day, but they were all finished and eating pizza in Michonne's living room by 7 pm. Tyreese and Shane came over to help cart out empty boxes and to share in the pizza.

Merle left soon after Shane arrived cause it bugged the hell out of him to see his hand on Michonne's waist as he texted someone else and bragged about all the girls he dated in high school.

"Thanks for supper, I'm gonna head out now," Merle smiled, reaching for his coat and heading for the door.

"Leaving so soon?" Shane asked.

"Yep, you guys have a good night," he nodded.

Merle smiled at Michonne as he slid his arm in the sleeve of his coat and he hoped that she'd find someone better than Shane. Merle liked Shane well enough as a buddy, but he wasn't good enough for Michonne.

Carol wondered what was up with Merle, but Daryl knew exactly what it was. Merle had begged Daryl not to tell anyone about his feelings for Michonne, so he honored that even though he'd wanted to tell Carol a few times already. Merle wasn't the type to go for any woman in particular, but there was something about Michonne that was getting to him. Daryl hoped he wasn't about to wind up heartbroken by something that wasn't meant to be.

**############################**

**I'm actually posting a few more chapters of this story later today (I was going to do it now, but something came up). I really want to get to a happy part for Merle, so I'll definitely post it today:)**


	16. Chapter 16

_**You Don't Know Me, But...** _

_**Chapter 16** _

Living with Michonne was just as comfortable as Carol knew it would be. Michonne liked her own space occasionally, and so did she, and after so many years as friends, they could read each other.

Carol lived so close to Daryl that seeing him on his lunch breaks at the shop and every evening was easy. Getting to know him better was exciting because the more she knew, the more she liked him. Carol wasn't in a rush to say, love, even though she believed that's what she was feeling. The strange way that they'd met felt so otherworldly and yet organic like it was meant to happen.

She found herself taking his picture all the time, he was a great subject even though he was shy about cameras.

"I ain't that interesting that you need to take 500 pictures a day," he laughed.

"Yes, you are. Now act casual like I'm not even here," she insisted.

She was taking pictures all over Atlanta in between doing sessions for catalogs, but she could see a real career in Atlanta that was more creative than simply paying the bills. If she photographed one more house for a real estate sale, she felt like she'd scream.

She took pictures of Daryl's filthy hands and the way he'd look deep and hard at a car sometimes trying to figure out what wasn't working. Carol took pictures of his ass, and of his smile and of him sleeping. It was definitely love.

One evening, not long after her move to Atlanta, Daryl took her for a date, and he seemed deep in thought about something.

"What's up?" she asked.

"Nothing, it's just Merle."

Carol was anxious that maybe he had slipped in his mission to stay clean and out of trouble, so she asked if that's what it was, but delicately.

"No, he's just in this therapy thing, and he's talking about our childhood a bit lately."

"Is that bad?" she asked.

"It's not bad to talk about it, but the subject is just depressing. I know he needs to work through all of this, so I just suck it up and listen, but I hope he can move on soon."

"Me too, he has his whole life ahead of him. He could do anything now, get married or have a family," she smiled.

Daryl couldn't hold it in anymore, he had to talk to someone about Merle's crush. Daryl knew that Carol could be trusted.

"On top of all his therapy stuff, he's got it pretty bad for Michonne."

"Michonne?"

"Didn't you notice?" Daryl asked incredulously.

"I guess I've been so busy with the move and thinking about us that it slipped by my radar."

"Yeah, he's liked her since the day they met."

"Well, she's not seeing Shane anymore, so maybe he should go for it."

"Seriously?" Daryl smiled. "What happened between them?"

"Nothing really, it just wasn't going anywhere. They didn't even sleep together."

"Pfft! I don't blame her. The way that guy talks it's like he's been with every woman in the city," Daryl laughed.

"That had something to do with it," Carol grinned.

"Maybe Merle will actually make a move now," Daryl hoped out loud. "Has Michonne mentioned anything about him at all? I don't know if I should encourage him or not."

"She did say that he's sweet and funny, but I didn't ask her directly if she's interested. I could if you want me too."

"Only if you can bring it up casually," he said, not wanting to come between them about it. "The last thing I wanna do right now is embarrass him when he's doing so well."

They finished eating and decided to drive to Piedmont Park to sit under a tree and talk. Daryl loved the outdoors, and he often wanted to be outside just for the sake of it. Carol always brought along her camera, and they could enjoy peaceful times together without even speaking. Piedmont Park was becoming one of their regular spots to relax and get some fresh air.

Whatever magic had brought them together was a blessing, and Carol felt so much for him already.

Daryl found a spot under a weeping willow and pulled her down to sit between his legs. The sun was already well on its way out of the office for the day, and she leaned back against him.

He kissed her neck, and she moaned in sweet anticipation of his touch, he always seemed to get frisky outdoors.

"You walking into the shop that day was the best thing that ever happened to me," he said softly between kisses.

"Meeting you changed everything," she said, reaching up to hold his mouth to the side of her throat.

His hands began to roam all over her body, and he turned her in his arms halfway to almost cradle her in his embrace.

His kiss was strong and insistent, and she loved that about him, there was never any hesitation with Daryl. The park was deserted, and soon he was over her and moving his body against hers.

"I could take you right here," he groaned.

"Wanna get arrested?" she teased.

"Car?"

"OK."

Back in the car, he climbed on top of her in the backseat like they were a couple of impatient kids. Clothes were tossed aside as he wrestled to get her naked and under him, making love was still in the stages where it was now or never.

The moment he thrust into her, she cried out in ecstasy. Sometimes there was no foreplay, they didn't need it at these times. He had become a master at always having condoms on hand and getting them on quickly.

Carol grabbed him by his ass and urged him into her harder. The pressure of him inside her was addictive on every level. Daryl was impossible hard and there was a rhythm to the way he fucked that was like nothing she'd ever known. She'd look up at his beautiful face at times and wonder how she ever lived without him. To think that such a random and mysterious dream had brought them together was both eerie and fascinating.

"Oh fuck yes!" she hissed as he bit her throat.

Daryl closed his eyes, held her head in the crook of his strong arm and fucked her senseless till the car was rocking.

Carol felt, not only safe with Daryl; she felt like they were one spirit and one heart.

The passion they had just to be together, the way that laughter came so easily and the way it felt to make love was all that they'd both been looking for.

Daryl drove them home that night feeling like a million and a half dollars. Carol was his, and she lived so close to him that it was almost like living together. He planned to keep everything strong between them, and he could already see them getting married someday.

Everything was so right in Daryl's life and yet there was a part of his heart that ached for Merle. He knew how strongly he felt for Michonne, it was evident in his eyes whenever her name came up. Daryl prayed that somehow she felt the same and would give him a shot. It was one thing to be alive and healthy, it was another to have love in your life, and he wanted that for his brother.


	17. Chapter 17

_**You Don't Know Me, But...** _

_**Chapter 17** _

Carol felt strangely funny about asking Michonne about Merle; she didn't want to sound like she was pressuring her. She decided she'd ask her casually that evening when she got home from the gym, she could always just tell her there was no pressure and that she was only curious. Carol really liked Merle and could see him being a great boyfriend despite his past.

He was making some serious changes and didn't even seem to be struggling too much. He went to every therapy appointment, read every book he was instructed to, always went to work on time, not to mention that he was seriously easy on the eyes just like Daryl. Carol cleaned up the apartment, played some music and yapped with Daryl on the phone as she waited for Michonne to get back from the gym.

_**/** _

Merle loved being alive and since Michael's group had disbanded a new load of criminals had taken over, and his profile was lessened. The new group of thugs didn't care about settling old debts, they just wanted new profits and to throw their weight around the neighborhood. So many people were in debt to Michael or living under his thumb as part of his gang that Tyreese had done most of them a favor.

Merle went to work and kept his nose clean, and even though life was a little boring he felt safe, and that's all he cared about now.

He'd seen Trish around and fought his instincts to tell her off. Her kids had been threatened, so it was hard to blame her completely. It was hard to believe he'd been with someone like her now and he decided he was happier alone than to be with a troublemaker. Loneliness was better than trouble.

Seeing Daryl and Carol together made him happy but also very envious. Most nights he was the third wheel for a few hours and then went home alone. His apartment was so quiet now that he was staying in and not getting up to mischief. It was tempting to go out just to hear someone's voice, he was a social person, but he had to avoid tempting situations. If he went out when he was lonely, he'd wind up at the bar, and that was no good.

He was working through his program with Dr. Greene to stay clean, and it was going well, almost getting his head smashed like a coconut was a strong motivation to stay straight.

His therapist asked him what his plans were for the future and his answer prompted her to book him more appointments to talk. He told her that he had dreams but that they were too big to achieve. Merle joked that he needed practice with dreaming.

"I'm not the kind of guy who ever really had dreams before, but then I thought I was going to die. When I didn't die, I started to dream, but everything I want is so ridiculously out of my hands that I need to make my dreams smaller."

"What are these big dreams?" she asked.

"I immediately fell in love with a model, of all people," he laughed. "This woman looks surreal she's so perfect. I set my sights so damned high that I'm bound to end up disappointed. My mind knows I can't have her but my heart ain't listening."

"Did you ask her out?" his therapist asked.

"No. I can't do that. She's really sweet to me so I don't think she'd laugh at me or anything but...I just can't."

_**/** _

Merle finally decided to go down to the gym after weeks of therapy and hard work to see if maybe he could get back in shape too. It would be something productive to do with his evenings anyway. He was getting so tired of staring at the walls of his apartment or hanging out with the happy couple.

He signed up and paid for his membership after work on a Friday and found a treadmill in the back where he could hide how out of shape he was.

Merle turned his music on and put on his headphones, then spent the next 5 minutes trying to figure out how to get it moving.

"Need a hand?" a voice came out of nowhere.

"Oh! Hey, Michonne!" he stumbled. "I'm new here, so I don't know how to do anything."

Michonne came closer and showed him how to get the machine going, and he thanked her shyly. She was wearing yoga pants and a tank top that showed so much of her perfect skin that he ached inside.

Merle had tried really hard not to think of Michonne too much since she was with Shane, although he couldn't help thinking of her when he was 'alone.'

"I'm here pretty much every evening so I'd be happy to give you some tips," she smiled.

"You would?"

"Sure, why not? Carol tells me you've been doing really well lately."

"I'm trying. I had a lot of people go out of their way to save me, so I want to be worthy of that," he explained.

Merle noticed that he was sounding more like his therapist than the old Merle. Therapy was teaching him a lot about himself and why he did things.

"Every person is worth saving, Merle."

"I didn't think so before."

"I hope you feel differently now," she smiled.

"I'm getting there," he shrugged.

"I'm happy to hear it."

Merle stood in his old sweats and t-shirt and couldn't help eyeing her perfect body hungrily. Shane would kick his ass if he could read his mind at that moment.

"Let's run off some steam," she giggled then fired up his treadmill and jumped on the one next to him.

Merle tried to keep up with her and kept it going for about 15 minutes before he had to admit he was beaten and slowed it down to walking speed again.

"You did really good!" she praised.

"I...Jesus...I...need water..." he panted.

"Come on," she laughed and took him over to the desk where she bought him a bottle of ice cold spring water.

"Thanks," he gasped and downed half the bottle in one sip.

"Wanna be workout buddies?" she asked.

"You gonna keep torturing me?"

"Maybe."

Merle loved her smile, her entire face lit up when she was happy, and it was infectious. It kinda hurt to see her and know she was with someone else but he genuinely liked being around her so how could he say no?

"I'd love to be your workout buddy, Covergirl."

"Wanna hit the weights and then grab a coffee?" she asked.

Merle couldn't believe she was offering him more of her time and he was giddy to take it.

She worked him over good in the weight room, and he knew he'd be feeling it everywhere the next day, but he couldn't care less.

Merle had eyes for Michonne since he met her in the back of a car the first time and beyond her looks, she was the nicest person he'd ever met too. Carol had shown him some of her modeling pictures, and he couldn't get his head around any woman being so beautiful. Now here she was talking to him and not just because Daryl and Carol were around.

He showered up in the locker room and put on the everyday jeans and t-shirt he had in his gym bag but wished he had something better to wear.

He met her at the front entrance, and she was wearing a red dress and sandals with sparkly straps that went up her ankle.

"Good lord! You dress like this after the gym?" he asked.

"I'm into fashion," she shrugged. "Occupational hazard."

"I look like a shlub next to you," he laughed.

"You're a new man these days, we could give you a makeover. Maybe you'll let me dress you someday. " she smiled.

He was about to quip that he'd much rather have her undress him but he kept his fool mouth shut.

"Sure."

She walked with him down the road to the coffee shop they all frequented, and he wasn't sure what they were supposed to talk about, but the conversation never fell flat once.

"So, how does it feel to keep your nose clean?" she winked.

"Pretty good! No more looking over my shoulder. I gotta say I'm kinda stunned that you'd wanna be seen with the likes of me."

"Why?"

"You kidding me? You're one of those women a teenage boy dreams about, the kind of woman you think doesn't actually exist...but there you are."

She smiled like it was the last thing she ever expected and also the world's greatest compliment.

"Merle, you're sweet."

"Think I'm exaggerating?" he asked. "I'm not."

He put his coffee cup down and looked at her just a little more seriously for a moment.

He was trying to win her favor like he had a shot in the world but he knew she was with Shane and figured he should probably tone it down.

"So...how's Shane?" he asked, coming back down to reality.

"I don't know," she answered with a shrug of her shoulders.

"You don't know?" he asked.

"It didn't work out. He's nice, but we're way too different."

Merle wondered what her type was and how far he was from that type.

"That's a shame," he added cause he didn't really know what to say.

"It's not a big deal, it didn't get serious between us or anything. You know, you're really easy to talk to."

"You too. Maybe we could be...friends?" he inquired like a big dope.

"Workout buddies, friends...maybe more?" she smiled.

His heart fell right through his chest and into his stomach as he looked at her for a sign that she was just kidding but he didn't see it.

"We could be anything you want."

There was a long and painful moment of silence before a cheeky smile crept across her face, and he was done, completely done.

_**/** _

Merle walked her to her apartment and waited for her to find her keys before saying goodnight and thanking her for helping him figure out the treadmill.

"Merle...you're not really my type-" she began.

"I know. I wasn't trying anything," he insisted, cutting her off before she let him down easy.

"Merle. Let me finish."

"Sorry."

"You're not my type...and I think maybe that's a really good thing. I just want to try something..."

She leaned in and touched his forearm, and all of the air was sucked from his lungs as she kissed him.

The planet stopped turning, and he was suspended, weightless for a moment, and then pulled into her gravitational force.

He lay his hands gently on her upper arms and melted into the kiss for a few more seconds, and when he opened his eyes again, she was smiling.

"Any good?" he asked.

"Really good...did you want to come over tomorrow night?"

"Yes. When?"

The question could have been, "Did you want to go jump off a bridge with me?" and his answer would have still been yes.

"6:30?"

"I'll be here."

"Goodnight, Merle."

"Goodnight, Michonne."

He watched her walk up the stairs and waited until he was sure she was out of sight before shouting "YES!" and punching the air.

Merle walked home on a cloud that night feeling grateful for more than just being alive for once.

_**/** _

"Hey, Michonne. Good workout?" Carol smiled, looking up from her computer.

"Uh...yeah," she grinned.

"What's that expression for?" Carol laughed.

"I just kissed Merle Dixon downstairs."

"Huh?"

"And he's coming over tomorrow night."

Carol couldn't wait to tell Daryl, he was going to be so happy to hear this little piece of news.


	18. Chapter 18

_**You Don't Know Me, But...** _

_**Chapter 18** _

The next morning at work Merle was eager to tell Daryl the news. In fact, he wanted to tell everyone he saw on the way there as well.

"So, I ran into Michonne at the gym last night," Merle grinned.

"Gym?" Daryl asked.

"Yeah, I joined the gym," he sighed.

"I heard she's not seeing Shane anymore," Daryl said, pouring a cup of coffee.

"Yep! She's single now. She worked out with me and then we went for coffee. I walked her home after and then out of nowhere she just kissed me. Can you believe it?"

"Sure, I told you to give it a try ages ago," Daryl laughed.

"She asked me to come over tonight, and I'm kinda pissin' myself about it," he sighed, pouring a coffee and then pulling on his coveralls.

"So, what's the plan? You gonna bring her flowers and candy?" Daryl teased.

Merle hadn't been on a proper date in years, so Daryl imagined him being really old school about it.

"Yeah...why, is that stupid?" he asked, looking worried.

"No, Merle. I think she'll find it cute."

"Cute? You mean she'll think I'm an idiot."

"No! Relax and just do what you were gonna do."

"What would you do?" Merle asked.

"I'd take a bottle of wine, but you can't really do that since you gave it up. She'll love the flowers, forget I said anything."

"I don't want to mess this up, she's all I can think about anymore," Merle confessed.

"Just be honest with her, and you can't go wrong. I think she can see who you really are and that's a good thing," Daryl assured him, and he patted him on the back like he was the big brother.

Daryl was proud of him, and with Merle living right, he didn't have to worry about him all the time. It left Daryl free to live his own life, and he already felt closer to his brother.

_**/** _

Merle questioned everything, but he decided to stick to his original plan since he couldn't take wine. Daryl said he'd ask Carol over to his place for the night so they could be alone and Merle tried not to panic, but it wasn't working.

He got off work and stopped by the barber shop that Tyreese owned for a shave and a haircut.

He casually mentioned that he was going to see Michonne and Tyreese was surprised to hear it.

"Things over with her and Shane already?" he asked.

"She said it wasn't too serious," Merle explained.

"Don't fuck it up, man. Michonne is the most beautiful woman in Atlanta," Tyreese grinned.

"I know, right? What the hell does she want to spend an evening with me for?"

They both laughed, and Merle headed to the store for flowers and candy. He was old school and clueless, but she may as well know that up front.

_**/** _

Michonne was just finishing up preparing a giant skillet of homemade jambalaya when she heard the buzzer for her apartment.

She walked to the door and was still wiping her hands on her apron when she opened it to find Merle standing there with flowers and candy like it was the 1950s. This is what she was looking for in a man.

"Hey," she smiled.

"Hi," he answered handing her the flowers wrapped in clear plastic. "You aren't allergic, are you?"

"No, they're beautiful, Merle. Thank you."

He walked in and placed the chocolate on a table next to the door, and she invited him in.

Michonne leaned in to hug him and kissed his cheek before taking the flowers to the kitchen to locate a vase. She was in an emerald green dress that hugged every curve of her perfect body, leaving him weak and gawking.

"Is it a doofus move to bring you those?" he asked while she was still in the kitchen and he didn't have to look her in the eye.

"No. It's really sweet," she insisted. "I love lilies."

Michonne served him spicy jambalaya that was so delicious he asked for seconds. He asked her how her day was to make small talk as he devoured the second plateful.

"It was so long," she groaned. "I spent all day long in my bra and panties for this lingerie shoot, and the photographer had the air conditioning cranked, I swear I was going to catch my death!"

"Oh...that's gotta be kinda weird, huh?"

"Not after this many years but in the beginning it definitely was. I don't do shoots like that often anymore, but this designer was too good to turn down," she shrugged.

"I'm trying really hard not to imagine those pictures, sorry" he chuckled, hoping he wouldn't offend her.

"Be a good boy, and I'll show you after dinner," she giggled.

"Good Lord," he sighed.

They wound up on her couch as the evening grew darker and she curled up next to him. Michonne ate a handful of the candy he'd bought her and just leaned against his shoulder as his heart raced uncontrollably. She made him feel like a kid again.

"I'm a sucker for dark chocolate," she grinned.

"Good guess on my part," he answered. "I never found chocolate I don't like."

"You're not like I expected when I first met you," she smiled.

"I guess you weren't expecting good things," he shrugged.

"I wasn't, but I was wrong. Now that I know you, I think you may be just what I need."

Merle looked over at her and couldn't believe she'd ever say such a thing to someone like him. All he could do was shake his head a little and smile.

Michonne wanted to see where things would go so she decided to push the envelope a little. Merle might be a bit of a risk with his past, but she hadn't been able to stop thinking of him since Carol's move from Athens. That white undershirt and the way he lifted furniture and heavy boxes with ease had been on her mind for a while.

"I'm just going to change into something more comfortable," she said as she got to her feet. "If you're curious at all, the shots from today are in that folder right there."

Merle was left alone with the folder sitting in front of him on the table, and he didn't know what the hell to think.

He'd gone from being almost murdered by thugs to being offered naughty pictures from the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen.

He reached out to touch the folder on the table and looked over to the hallway to be sure he was alone. She had told him he could look, but it still felt forbidden.

He could feel the blood rushing around his body frantically as he looked at each image.

There she was, her back arched and her bedroom eyes teasing him in a red silky get up he didn't know the name of.

Next was Michonne sat on a backward chair, and the shot was taken from behind. The strings of a lace up corset down her back and black panties.

He looked over to the hall again but continued through the stack of photos. How could he resist? Different colors of underwear and some of the most alluring poses he'd ever seen...nothing made sense to him in that moment. It didn't compute that he was there with her, he still felt so out of place next to a woman like Michonne.

When she returned suddenly he jumped and almost dropped all of the pictures on the floor.

"Sorry," he fumbled. "I...was just..."

"Hey, it's OK," she grinned, sitting back down next to him. "So, what did you think?"

She was in a black top and leggings now, Michonne looked like a 10 in everything she wore.

"I think you're crazy," he answered, shaking his head.

"Why?" she frowned.

"Cause, I'm a total fuck up who doesn't deserve to look at someone so beautiful. I don't even know what I'm doing here."

"Hey," she said, stopping him and touching his face. "You are not that man anymore."

She silenced him instantly, and he looked helplessly into her eyes.

"Kiss me," she whispered, but he just stared at her in disbelief.

"But-"

"Shhhh..."

She moved in and kissed him slowly, and he couldn't even close his eyes he was so stunned.

She moved back after he failed to respond and asked him what was wrong. It was then that he realized he was about to mess it all up if he didn't just go for it.

"Nothing," he insisted, reaching out for her and pulling her back to him.

Maybe this is why he was spared. Maybe a lifelong screw up really could have a second chance.

He kissed her this time and tried his best to be in the moment with her and not in his head with his doubt. Her lips were soft and sweet, and he touched the smooth skin of her cheek as he turned his head to deepen the kiss. She still tasted like the dark chocolate she'd been eating, and it was like a dream to him.

His life had been a sideshow of near escapes, pain, and confusion but this was heaven in the middle of all the nonsense.

Visions of her in panties floated around his mind and by the time she was slithering onto his lap he knew she'd be able to tell he was hard.

She spread her legs around his hips and wrapped her arms around his neck, making him feel like the king of the universe.

"You're so beautiful, honey," he whispered as his mouth drifted across her chest and up to her right ear where he licked her earlobe slowly.

"Mmmm..." she moaned, and he had to take a deep breath to steady his heart, she was hot as fire.

He felt her rolling her hips on his lap, and he clutched her waist in complete submission, she was too much.

To his dismay, she began to unbutton her top before his very eyes, and he could see that she was still wearing a red bra from in the pictures.

"Did you like this one?" she teased.

"You look perfect in everything," he groaned. "You're the sexiest woman I ever laid eyes on."

She shrugged the top back off her shoulders and grabbed his hands, laying them on her breasts over top of the silk.

"Oh fuuuuck," he panted, dropping his face to her chest where he began to kiss and lick her skin frantically.

Soon he was unfastening her bra and tossing it across the living room. He could barely take the way she was riding his lap through all the clothing, but he endured it as he teased her nipples with his tongue.

"That's good," she whispered softly. "Grab my ass..."

Merle obeyed her and took her perfect ass in both hands as he sucked her breasts hungrily.

"Do you want to?" she asked, and whatever she meant, the answer was hell yes.

"Yeah...whatever you want, honey. Just tell me what you want."

"Go down on me."

"Sweet Jesus yes!" he exclaimed.

Merle prayed that he'd have the skill to keep her coming back, God didn't throw a man like him chances like this every day.

She stood and slid her pants down, and he drank in the sight of her long legs. Michonne was about to take off her panties too when he reached out to stop her.

"Leave 'em on for a minute," he said.

Michonne sank down to sit on the couch before him and slouched down with an evil look in her eyes. Merle knelt down at her feet and kissed his way slowly up her perfect legs to her belly then opened her legs around his waist.

He kissed her through her wet panties and slid his hands under her thighs as she watched him.

"I have a feeling you're really good at this," she mentioned as she ran her fingers through his hair.

"You'll have to rate me when I'm done," he winked.

He pulled the material of her panties to the side and teased just the tip of his tongue over her lips. He went back to licking softly around the elastic to tease her, and she moaned for more.

"Mmmmm...yeah..."

Soon he wanted to really give it to her, so he dragged her panties down her legs as she raised her hips.

He went for it then, and she was into it with every cell in her being. He raised her legs up and held them there behind the knees as he trailed his lips from front to back and then nudged her clit gently with his tongue.

"Oh...uh...fuuuuck!" she whined.

His hands gripped her thighs, and he moved his mouth side to side across her wet folds to tease every inch of her perfect heat.

When she was ready to let go she pulled his mouth in so tight he thought he might drown in her, but he could care less if he died that way. Nothing so erotic and perfect had ever happened to him in all his life.

Michonne stripped him aggressively then and pushed him back on the couch before asking if he had a condom.

"No...I never thought in a million years that this would be happening."

"Just a second," she said, and he watched her gorgeous ass as she walked out of the room.

In a heartbeat, she returned and kept the condom in her hand for a moment as she worked him over with her hand. Merle's head fell back against the couch as he tried not to grab her and pull her down to the floor.

"Oh...honey, you're gonna make me-"

She got the hint and rolled the condom down his dick before jumping on him and rocking his world like he never knew possible.

Michonne fucked like it was a competition and she was a gold medalist. She'd go fast and hard for a bit, then slow it down and kiss him softly rolling her hips in a full circular motion; then it would be fast again.

Merle's mind and dick couldn't keep up with the beauty of her and the way she was riding him; it was pure evil.

Just as he was about to lose it, she slowed it down and touched his face softly. His hands lay on her back, and he just looked into her eyes like he was still trying to make sense of his luck.

She held his face to her neck and the whining sound she was making drove him right over the edge.

Merle picked her up and lay her underneath him on the couch then and gave her all he had.

"You're the best thing to ever happen to me," he said, looking deep into her eyes. "I'm not gonna let you down."

"I know that," she smiled.

Very quickly it was too much, and he slid his hand under her ass to pull her hips up into his thrusting. Merle let go and repeated her name a few times into her neck as he did.

They collapsed on the couch, and he tried to figure out what the hell was happening as he held her tight.

"Damn...you're amazing!" she panted.

"Me? You're a tiger, honey," he disputed.

She turned to look at him with a slight wincing expression that scared him.

"I don't normally do this on the first date but...we've known each other a little while, so it's OK, right?" she said softly.

"No judgment from me, honey. I have a shady past, so it's not for me to judge anyone...I'm clean though," he added quickly to put her mind at ease. "Dr. Greene checked me out, and I got nothing."

Michonne laughed and kissed his chest, pulling him closer to her.

"I didn't know I could ever have so much to live for," he sighed, kissing the top of her head. "I mean...you want to be with me, right?"

"Yes, you goof," she laughed.

Michonne asked him to stay the night, so they watched a movie and chatted some more before he crawled into bed with her.

He held her close and could only just see her silhouette in the darkness.

"I liked you since the first moment I saw you," he admitted.

"You did?"

"Yep. As soon as I got into Carol's car and saw you there, I couldn't stop thinking about you."

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"Too scared."

"You're such a goof," she said, pulling him closer and kissing him goodnight.

Merle had been so close to dying that he could taste it the entire time he was being held by Michael's thugs. He had so much time to think of all the things he'd never have that it made him sad. Right now he had more than he ever imagined when he was staring death in the face. Having someone who accepted him despite his past mistakes was exciting, he didn't have to hide it from Michonne for her to like him.

Thanks to Carol coming forward, he was actually in a position to dream, and as he held Michonne that night, there were no limits to the beautiful things he wished for. The idea that someone would come to his rescue when they didn't even know him was still foreign but now that he knew Carol it made sense, she was a special person.

**##################################################**

**One more chapter:) Thank you for reading:) Teagan xoxo**


	19. Chapter 19

_**You Don't Know Me, But...** _

_**Chapter 19 - Epilogue** _

The next morning, Merle woke up with Michonne's hair in his face and her arm draped across his chest. It was the best feeling in the whole world. He snuggled his face into her neck, and she smiled with her eyes still closed.

"Goodmorning, Merle."

"Goodmorning, Covergirl."

"Goof," she laughed.

Michonne had to leave early for work, but she insisted he should stay to sleep in and just leave when he woke up. She said Carol would be home from Daryl's place soon so he could have coffee with her when she arrived.

"Still happy?" he asked as he watched her get dressed.

"Very," she smiled. "You?"

"So happy it doesn't seem real."

"I'll see you tonight then?" she asked.

"You can see me whenever you like," he laughed.

Michonne kissed him sweetly and went off to a shoot and Merle drifted back to sleep with the scent of her all over the pillow. He awoke to the sound of Carol in the apartment an hour later and rolled out of bed to go and say hi. He got dressed quickly and found her in the kitchen a few minutes later where he almost gave her a heart attack.

"Jesus! I didn't know you were still here!" she sighed, clutching her chest.

"Sorry 'bout that," he chuckled.

"I take it the date went well?" she grinned, noticing his messy hair.

"Oh yeah, was real good!"

"Come have a coffee and tell me all about it."

They sat at the kitchen table, and he sipped coffee as he told Carol all about showing up with flowers and candy like a goof.

"It's sweet," Carol smiled.

"I don't know what the hell I ever did to get this lucky," he sighed.

"Everyone gets a string of luck from time to time, and everyone deserves it," she insisted.

"I don't know, it feels like I never did anything good in my whole damn life and then I get rescued by a sweet stranger like you...it doesn't make any sense."

"I find it very hard to believe you never did anything good, Merle. You seem very kind to me."

"Not since I was a kid," he chuckled. "I did do one good thing, but anybody woulda done it, so I don't know if it counts."

"Go on," Carol urged.

"This one summer, I went to the lake with my mom and Daryl. Our asshole father didn't come, so it was actually a great time. It was hotter than Hades that day, and I was just about to go back to the cabin to get the hell out of the sun, but then I noticed this motion in the water. I go to check it out, and it's this little girl drowning. I ran like a bat outta hell and snatched her up like a fish, she was all limp and choking."

Merle noticed a stunned expression on Carol's face and asked her what was wrong.

"This was local?" she asked.

"Yeah, Lake Lanier," he answered, getting up to refill his coffee.

"And the little girl had a pink bathing suit with white hearts?" she asked as her voice began to crack.

"How could you know that? Did you dream about it?" he asked in utter confusion.

Carol walked toward him and pulled him tightly into her arms.

"What the hell?"

"I've dreamed of that day for years, Merle...that little girl was me."

Merle didn't say anything for a moment, he just stood there stunned and shook his head.

"Jesus," he whispered and then hugged her back. "It was you?"

"Yes."

He rubbed her back and held her until she stopped shaking. She was tearing up, and he felt a little choked up himself, likely a result of all of his therapy.

"You saved me, Merle. I never knew who it was...they took me away so fast."

"I read in the paper that you were alive but they didn't put your name in there, they just said you were a 4-year-old girl."

"I can't believe this," she said, looking up at him and coming back to her senses. "That was the most terrifying thing that ever happened to me. If you hadn't been there I'd be dead, nobody else noticed me."

"And if you hadn't listened to that dream, so would I," he smiled.

"It all makes sense now!" she exclaimed. "I was supposed to dream about you because you saved me when I was little!"

"You think?" he asked.

"It's all I can figure," she shrugged.

"Whatever the reason was, I'm always going to be grateful that you're the kind of person who cared enough to investigate," he smiled.

"You too. You went to see what the movement in the water was."

"This is too weird," he chuckled.

"It really is...but I'm so glad that I met you, Merle."

"And my brother," he winked.

"And your brother," she laughed. "And I bet you're glad you met my best friend."

"Yep! This is getting weirder and weirder the more I think of it."

There was a moment where neither of them knew what to say. Accepting that forces beyond their understanding were playing such a huge role in their lives was a little scary, but these forces seemed aimed toward good. Carol looked at the man from the dream, who was so much more to her now, maybe someday he'd be her brother in law. They'd likely never understand how it all happened the way it did, but they were forever connected by human decency and empathy.

"Can I take you out for breakfast?" he asked. "I'm starving."

"I bet you are," she smiled, still wiping tears from her face. "Let's go."

**##########################**

**I know I could have squeezed more out of this but I have a rule about stopping when the story is told. This story was about Carol's dreams and how they connected her to Merle in the past and then the present. On top of that, they all found love, so there's not much more to tell:)**

**Thanks so much for reading and for the kind reviews, it means the world to me.**

**Teagan xoxo**

*** in a week I'll start posting a new Merle story and then after that is a huge 'Caryl Only' story (with no Merle at all for once) lol**


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